Vanessa Schafer, CFP®

Associate Vice President, Wealth Management, Private Wealth Advisor

Profile Photo
Direct:
(310) 297-3770(310) 297-3770

Vanessa Schafer has had various roles during her 16-year tenure at the firm. She collaborates with her team in crafting comprehensive wealth management plans for her clients. A CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER ™, her goal is to provide clients with the informed perspective needed to make sound decisions involving retirement, risk management, real estate, business liquidations, philanthropic aspirations, estate planning and tax efficient strategies. Vanessa’s bilingual fluency offers a superior level of care to clients whose native language is Spanish.
Vanessa received a B.A. in business with an emphasis on finance from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California. She was a member of the LMU Women’s Soccer Team and the Costa Rican National Women’s Soccer Team. Vanessa currently resides in Torrance, California, with her husband, daughter, and son. In her free time, she enjoys coaching her son’s AYSO team, swimming, beach volleyball and archery.

Securities Agent: CO, AL, WY, WI, VT, VA, UT, OH, HI, DC, AZ, SD, RI, ND, MO, ME, IA, TX, NJ, MI, KS, NM, MA, SC, CT, TN, OK, NC, IN, OR, MT, FL, AR, NE, MN, MD, ID, GA, DE, PA, NY, IL, CA, WA, NV, NH, LA; General Securities Representative; Investment Advisor Representative; Managed Futures
NMLS#: 2475151
CA Insurance License #: 0G40415

Ready to invest in what matters to you?

Let’s talk. Check the background of Our Firm and Investment Professionals on FINRA's BrokerCheck.*
1Morgan Stanley Wealth Management is the trade name of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC, a registered broker-dealer in the United States.

Back to top



2Alternative Investments are speculative and include a high degree of risk. An investor could lose all or a substantial amount of his/her investment. Alternative investments are appropriate only for qualified, long-term investors who are willing to forgo liquidity and put capital at risk for an indefinite period of time.

Back to top



3When Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC, its affiliates and Morgan Stanley Financial Advisors and Private Wealth Advisors (collectively, “Morgan Stanley”) provide “investment advice” regarding a retirement or welfare benefit plan account, an individual retirement account or a Coverdell education savings account (“Retirement Account”), Morgan Stanley is a “fiduciary” as those terms are defined under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”), and/or the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (the “Code”), as applicable. When Morgan Stanley provides investment education, takes orders on an unsolicited basis or otherwise does not provide “investment advice”, Morgan Stanley will not be considered a “fiduciary” under ERISA and/or the Code. For more information regarding Morgan Stanley’s role with respect to a Retirement Account, please visit www.morganstanley.com/disclosures/dol. Tax laws are complex and subject to change. Morgan Stanley does not provide tax or legal advice. Individuals are encouraged to consult their tax and legal advisors (a) before establishing a Retirement Account, and (b) regarding any potential tax, ERISA and related consequences of any investments or other transactions made with respect to a Retirement Account. Individuals should consult their tax advisor for matters involving taxation and tax planning and their attorney for matters involving trust and estate planning, charitable giving, philanthropic planning and other legal matters.

Back to top



4Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC (“Morgan Stanley”), its affiliates and Morgan Stanley Financial Advisors and Private Wealth Advisors do not provide tax or legal advice. Clients should consult their tax advisor for matters involving taxation and tax planning and their attorney for matters involving trust and estate planning, charitable giving, philanthropic planning and other legal matters.

Back to top



5Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC (“Morgan Stanley”), its affiliates and Morgan Stanley Financial Advisors or Private Wealth Advisors do not provide tax or legal advice. Clients should consult their tax advisor for matters involving taxation and tax planning and their attorney for legal matters.

Back to top



6Morgan Stanley offers a wide array of brokerage and advisory services to its clients, each of which may create a different type of relationship with different obligations to you. Please consult with your Financial Advisor to understand these differences or review our Understanding Your Brokerage and Investment Advisory Relationships brochure available at www.morganstanley.com/wealth-relationshipwithms/pdfs/understandingyourrelationship.pdf.

Back to top



7Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC (“Morgan Stanley”), its affiliates and Morgan Stanley Financial Advisors or Private Wealth Advisors do not provide tax or legal advice. Clients should consult their tax advisor for matters involving taxation and tax planning and their attorney for legal matters.

Back to top



8The returns on a portfolio consisting primarily of Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”) aware investments may be lower or higher than a portfolio that is more diversified or where decisions are based solely on investment considerations. Because ESG criteria exclude some investments, investors may not be able to take advantage of the same opportunities or market trends as investors that do not use such criteria. Diversification does not guarantee a profit or protect against loss in a declining financial market.

Back to top



9Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC (“Morgan Stanley”), its affiliates and Morgan Stanley Financial Advisors or Private Wealth Advisors do not provide tax or legal advice. Clients should consult their tax advisor for matters involving taxation and tax planning and their attorney for legal matters.

Back to top



This information, products and services described here are intended only for individuals residing in states where this Financial Advisor is properly registered as described in this site.

Morgan Stanley reserves the right, to the extent permitted under applicable law, to retain and monitor all electronic communications. Morgan Stanley will not accept purchase or sale orders via any Internet site, social media site and/or its messaging systems. Morgan Stanley does not endorse and is not responsible and assumes no liability for content, products or services posted by third parties on any Internet site, social media site and/or its messaging systems. All electronic communications are subject to terms available at the following link: https://www.morganstanley.com/disclosures. Any profiles and associated content are for U.S. residents only

*References to length of service at Morgan Stanley include years at Morgan Stanley and predecessor firms.

The securities/instruments, investments and investment strategies discussed in this material may not be appropriate for all investors. The appropriateness of a particular investment or investment strategy will depend on an investor's individual circumstances and objectives. The views and opinions expressed on this website do not necessarily reflect those of Morgan Stanley.

Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. owns the certification marks CFP, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER and CFP (with flame logo)® in the U.S., which it awards to individuals who successfully complete CFP Board's initial and ongoing certification requirements.

Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC is a registered Broker/Dealer, Member SIPC, and not a bank. Where appropriate, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC has entered into arrangements with banks and other third parties to assist in offering certain banking related products and services.

Investment, insurance and annuity products offered through Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC are: NOT FDIC INSURED | MAY LOSE VALUE | NOT BANK GUARANTEED | NOT A BANK DEPOSIT | NOT INSURED BY ANY FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AGENCY

Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC offers insurance products in conjunction with its licensed insurance agency affiliates.

Life insurance, disability income insurance, and long-term care insurance are offered through Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC's licensed insurance agency affiliates.

Not all products and services are available to clients outside of the United States.

When Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC, its affiliates and Morgan Stanley Financial Advisors and Private Wealth Advisors (collectively, “Morgan Stanley”) provide “investment advice” regarding a retirement or welfare benefit plan account, an individual retirement account or a Coverdell education savings account (“Retirement Account”), Morgan Stanley is a “fiduciary” as those terms are defined under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”), and/or the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (the “Code”), as applicable. When Morgan Stanley provides investment education, takes orders on an unsolicited basis or otherwise does not provide “investment advice”, Morgan Stanley will not be considered a “fiduciary” under ERISA and/or the Code. For more information regarding Morgan Stanley’s role with respect to a Retirement Account, please visit www.morganstanley.com/disclosures/dol. Tax laws are complex and subject to change. Morgan Stanley does not provide tax or legal advice. Individuals are encouraged to consult their tax and legal advisors (a) before establishing a Retirement Account, and (b) regarding any potential tax, ERISA and related consequences of any investments or other transactions made with respect to a Retirement Account.

Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC offers investment program services through a variety of investment programs, which are opened pursuant to written client agreements. Each program offers investment managers, funds and features that are not available in other programs; conversely, some investment managers, funds or investment strategies may be available in more than one program. Morgan Stanley’s investment advisory programs may require a minimum asset level and, depending on a client’s specific investment objectives and financial position, may not be appropriate for the client. Please see the applicable program disclosure document for more information, available at www.morganstanley.com/ADV or from your Institutional Consultant.

The Global Investment Manager Analysis (GIMA) Services Only Apply to Certain Investment Advisory Programs. GIMA evaluates certain investment products for the purposes of some – but not all – of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC’s investment advisory programs (as described in more detail in the applicable Form ADV Disclosure Document for Morgan Stanley Wealth Management). If you do not invest through one of these investment advisory programs, Morgan Stanley Wealth Management is not obligated to provide you notice of any GIMA Status changes even though it may give notice to clients in other programs.

Morgan Stanley Wealth Management’s Outsourced Chief Investment Officer (OCIO) program provides a discretionary investment management solution for accounts generally in excess of $25 million in assets. The program’s robust investment process includes investment policy statement development and review, customized asset allocation, investment product selection, risk management, disciplined rebalancing and ongoing portfolio monitoring. To learn more about the OCIO program, read the applicable Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC ADV brochure and/or brochure supplement, available at www.morganstanley.com/ADV. In the OCIO program, accounts are subject to an

annual asset-based fee which is payable quarterly in advance (some account types may be billed differently). In general, the Fee covers all fees or charges of Morgan Stanley (including investment advisory services, brokerage commissions, compensation to Morgan Stanley Financial Advisors and Morgan Stanley custodial charges) except certain costs or charges associated with the account such as any applicable Sub-Manager fees or certain securities transactions, including dealer mark-ups or mark-downs, auction fees, certain odd-lot differentials, exchange fees, transfer taxes, electronic fund and wire transfer fees; charges imposed by custodians other than Morgan Stanley.

Information contained herein is based on data from multiple sources considered to be reliable and Morgan Stanley makes no representation as to the accuracy or completeness of data from sources outside of Morgan Stanley.

You should understand the differences between a brokerage and advisory relationship. When providing you brokerage services, our legal obligations to you are governed by the Securities Act of 1933, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the rules of self-regulatory organizations such as the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), and state securities laws, where applicable. When providing you advisory services, our legal obligations to you are governed by the Investment Advisers Act, Federal statutes and regulations relating to retirement accounts, and applicable state securities laws. These latter advisory obligations govern our conduct and disclosure requirements, creating a legal standard which is referred to as a “fiduciary” duty to you. We also may have a fiduciary duty to you, with respect to brokerage retirement accounts.

Please reach out to your Institutional Consultant if you have questions about your rights and our obligations to you, including the extent of our obligations to disclose conflicts of interest and to act in your best interest. For additional answers to questions about the differences between our advisory and brokerage services, please consult with your Institutional Consultant or review our Understanding Your Brokerage and Investment Advisory Relationships brochure available at https://www.morganstanley.com/wealth-relationshipwithms/pdfs/understandingyourrelationship.pdf.

©2024 Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC, Member SIIPC. Graystone Consulting is a business of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC.

Awards Disclosures
CRC # 3958844 (11/2024)