Morgan Stanley issues with HP-related employee stock

Part of HPAA's Stock Recovery Process: Employee Stock

(Mar 28, 2022)  Question? Email: info@hpalumni.org

Plan administrators, transfer agents, and brokerages vary significantly in how (or if) they track gain/loss and cost basis for the many complex HP-related stock events – and what (if anything) they report to the IRS.

Cost Basis. Can you correct your broker's records to include lot-by-lot cost basis data?
Call them. Using Google, did not find a reference to updating your data.
"Tax Filing Basics for Stock Plan Transactions"
https://advisor.morganstanley.com/the-livesay-balzano-group/documents/field/l/li/livesay-balzano-group/Tax_Filing_Basics_for_Stock_Plan_Transactions.pdf

Several issues reported by members:

1. Fees. Be sure to check for fees on any financial account. One member reports that a $200/quarter "quarterly maintenance fee" drained a small, inactive Morgan Stanley account.

2. Employee stock plan issues. Morgan Stanley national contact center for employee stock accounts: 1-800-367-4777 or 1-801-617-7700. Email: mystockplan@morganstanley.com .

If the national contact center is unable to help you with an HP- or Compaq-related employee stock account issue, members report that you should contact Stock Plan Operations at the Morgan Stanley office in San Mateo, CA during PST office hours: 650-496-4288. 411 Borel Ave, Suite 220, San Mateo, CA 94402. That office apparently has access to employee records.

Non-U.S. employees may have shares at Morgan Stanley's "StockPlan Connect." Statements for non-U.S. employee accounts are mailed from Columbus, Ohio. Login   FAQ  

Non-U.S. plan participants may not have a Morgan Stanley "Global ID" number -- not the same as your Account Number. Contact the San Mateo office and follow their identification procedure -- which takes about three days and requires sending a scan of a government ID, such as a passport. They may not be able to give you online access to your account, instead requiring phone contact for each transaction. Be sure to sign any documents exactly as on the passport. Fill out an IRS form "W-8 BEN -- Certificate of Foreign Status of Beneficial Owner" -- to avoid the 25% U.S. tax withholding. "The cost of each bank transfer was US $ 20. The wire arrived within 2 hours!"

3. Micro Focus. In Apr 2018, people who bought stock administered by Morgan Stanley's corporate benefits division "StockPlan Connect," were sent 1099-B forms dated 3/14/18 based on incorrect data entry from the HPE Cost Basis letter. One member discovered this and was able to convince Morgan Stanley to send corrected 1099-B forms dated 4/13/18 via postal mail to "you and 6,000 other HPE shareholders."

"CORRECTED COPY AS OF 04/13/18. Following is a corrected form 1099 for 2017. Initially, the proceeds amount was calculated with a conversion rate of .2208; the correct rate is .1373. The cost basis amount was calculated with a conversion rate of .1373 times the Micro Focus FMV of $29.34; the correct rate is .2208 times the original Hewlett Packard Enterprises [sic] cost basis. Note that each tax lot of HPE had a different cost basis." 

[HPAA comment: Morgan Stanley swapped the two numbers when entering the numbers into their system.]

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