clients, who are primarily high-net-worth individuals. On January 13, 2009, the Global Wealth Management Group was merged with Citi's Smith Barney to form Morgan Stanley Smith Barney. Morgan Stanley owned 51% of the entity, and Citi held 49%. On May 31, 2012, Morgan Stanley exercised its option to purchase an additional 14% of the joint venture from Citi. In June 2013, Morgan Stanley stated it had secured all regulatory approvals to buy Citigroup's remaining 35% stake in Smith Barney and would proceed to finalize the deal. In February 2019, the company announced the acquisition of Solium Capital, a manager of employee stock plans, for $900 million. In October 2020, the company completed its acquisition of E*Trade, a deal announced in February 2020 for $13 billion, the biggest acquisition by a U.S. bank since the global financial crisis. Investment Management Investment Management provides asset management products and services in equity, fixed income, alternative investments, real estate investment, and private equity to institutional and retail clients through third-party retail distribution channels, intermediaries and Morgan Stanley's institutional distribution channel. Morgan Stanley's asset management activities were principally conducted under the Morgan Stanley and Van Kampen brands until 2009. On October 19, 2009, Morgan Stanley announced that it would sell Van Kampen to Invesco for $1.5 billion, but would retain the Morgan Stanley brand. It provides asset management products and services to institutional investors worldwide, including pension plans, corporations, private funds, non-profit organizations, foundations, endowments, governmental agencies, insurance companies and banks. On September 29, 2013, Morgan Stanley announced a partnership with Longchamp Asset Management, a French-based asset manager that specializes in the distribution of UCITS hedge funds, and La Française AM, a multi-specialist asset manager with a 10-year track record in alternative investments. In March 2018, Morgan Stanley acquired Mesa West, a leading U.S. commercial real estate credit platform, adding to its existing investment strategies and product offerings across real assets and private credit. In March 2021, Morgan Stanley completed its acquisition of Eaton Vance, a deal announced in October 2020. With the addition of Eaton Vance, Morgan Stanley now had $5.4 trillion of client assets across its Wealth Management and Investment Management segments. Awards and honors In 2020 Morgan Stanley was named IFR's Bank of the Year, and in 2021 Morgan Stanley was named Euromoney's best investment bank in the world. Fast Company named Morgan Stanley in its list of Best Workplaces for Innovators