Morgan Stanley support staff to get bonuses tied to tech issues

Sept 20 (Reuters) - Morgan Stanley Smith Barney is giving several thousand of its support staff bonuses as high as $5,000 each to thank them for helping the brokerage through its recent technology integration, sources familiar with the matter said.

The staffers, who support the company's 17,000 brokers, will be getting the one-time bonuses next month, said two sources, who asked not to be identified. Several brokers said their assistants were informed about the bonuses on conference calls Thursday afternoon.

The size of the bonuses will be based on a staffer's seniority, with the minimum being $1,500, three sources said.

Two brokers interviewed by Reuters said they view the bonuses as thanks to the staffers for dealing with a lot of problems that have arisen from the company's new technology platform, dubbed 3D.

The brokerage, the result of a 2009 combination of Citigroup's Smith Barney and Morgan Stanley's retail brokerage, transferred Smith Barney brokers to the new system in three waves this year.

The platform was created to let the firm's army of brokers do everything from trade stocks and pick fund managers to help clients manage risk. Many brokers have expressed disappointment with the platform, saying it has been beset by glitches.