Morgan Stanley

What does Morgan Stanley do?
Morgan Stanley provides investment banking advisory (M&A, restructuring), underwriting, securities trading, wealth management for individual investors, and investment management for institutional clients. The firm serves corporations, governments, institutional investors, and individual clients through three segments: Institutional Securities, Wealth Management, and Investment Management.

Is Morgan Stanley publicly traded?
Yes, Morgan Stanley trades on the New York Stock Exchange under ticker symbol MS. The company has no controlling shareholder, with ownership distributed among institutional investors. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group holds a significant stake following its 2008 investment.

What is Morgan Stanley's annual revenue?
In FY2024, Morgan Stanley reported record net revenues of approximately $61.8 billion, a 14% increase from FY2023. The Wealth Management segment contributed approximately $28.4 billion, Institutional Securities approximately $26.3 billion, and Investment Management approximately $6.6 billion.

Who is Morgan Stanley's CEO?
Ted Pick has served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Morgan Stanley since January 2024, succeeding James Gorman who became Executive Chairman. Pick previously served as Co-President and head of the Institutional Securities division.

When was Morgan Stanley founded?
Morgan Stanley was founded on September 16, 1935, by Henry S. Morgan (grandson of J.P. Morgan) and Harold Stanley, following the Glass-Steagall Act's requirement that commercial banks separate their investment banking operations.

Does Morgan Stanley own E*TRADE?
Yes, Morgan Stanley acquired ETRADE Financial Corporation in 2020 for approximately $13 billion. ETRADE operates as a digital retail brokerage platform within Morgan Stanley's Wealth Management segment, serving self-directed individual investors.

Morgan Stanley was founded on September 16, 1935, by Henry S. Morgan and Harold Stanley. The firm was established in the wake of the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933, which required commercial banks to separate their investment banking operations. Henry S. Morgan was the grandson of J.P. Morgan, and the new firm was created to continue the securities underwriting and advisory business that had been conducted within J.P. Morgan & Co.

In its early years, Morgan Stanley focused exclusively on securities underwriting for major corporations, establishing a reputation for handling the largest and most prestigious transactions. The firm underwrote major bond and equity offerings for corporations including General Motors, U.S. Steel, and AT&T, building relationships with the largest American companies.

Morgan Stanley remained a private partnership for decades, maintaining an exclusive focus on institutional clients and large corporations. The firm went public in 1986, becoming a publicly traded corporation and providing capital for expansion.

In 1997, Morgan Stanley merged with Dean Witter, Discover & Co. in a transaction valued at approximately $10 billion. Dean Witter was a major retail brokerage firm with millions of individual investor clients, and the merger gave Morgan Stanley a significant retail distribution network alongside its institutional business. The merged company was initially named Morgan Stanley Dean Witter & Co., later reverting to Morgan Stanley in 2001.

The 2008 financial crisis severely tested Morgan Stanley. The firm faced significant losses from mortgage-related securities and experienced a crisis of confidence in September 2008 when its stock fell sharply amid concerns about its stability. Morgan Stanley received $10 billion in TARP funds from the U.S. government and also received a $9 billion investment from Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), Japan's largest bank, which stabilized the firm. Morgan Stanley converted to a bank holding company in September 2008.

James Gorman became CEO in January 2010, succeeding John Mack. Gorman's tenure was defined by a strategic pivot toward wealth management and investment management as more stable revenue sources. A key early move was the acquisition of Smith Barney from Citigroup in stages between 2009 and 2012, which gave Morgan Stanley one of the largest wealth management businesses in the United States.

Gorman continued the wealth management expansion with the acquisition of E*TRADE Financial Corporation in 2020 for approximately $13 billion, adding approximately 5.2 million retail brokerage accounts and a digital trading platform. In 2021, Morgan Stanley acquired Eaton Vance, an investment management firm, for approximately $7 billion, adding approximately $500 billion in assets under management.

Ted Pick became CEO in January 2024, succeeding Gorman who became Executive Chairman. Pick, who had previously served as Co-President and head of the Institutional Securities division, led the firm to record revenues in his first year.