Morgan Stanley $MS is a global financial services firm headquartered in New York City that provides investment banking, securities trading, wealth management, and investment management to corporations, governments, institutions, and individuals. It is one of the largest investment banks in the world by revenue and assets under management.
The firm was founded in 1935 by Henry S. Morgan and Harold Stanley, both former partners at J.P. Morgan & Co., after the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933 forced commercial and investment banking activities to separate. Morgan Stanley opened its doors on Sept. 16, 1935, and within its first year handled roughly 24% of all public offerings in the U.S. by dollar volume.
Morgan Stanley operates through three primary business segments. Its institutional securities division handles investment banking — advising on mergers, acquisitions, and capital raises — as well as sales and trading across equities, fixed income, currencies, and commodities. Its wealth management division serves individual investors and financial advisors, a business the firm significantly expanded through its 2020 acquisition of E*Trade and its 2021 acquisition of Eaton Vance. Its investment management division oversees a broad range of asset classes, including equity, fixed income, and private credit strategies, for institutional and individual clients globally.
The firm went public on the New York Stock Exchange in 1986 and merged with Dean Witter, Discover $DFS & Co. in 1997, temporarily operating under the name Morgan Stanley Dean Witter & Co. before reverting to Morgan Stanley to macroeconomic trends, is widely followed by institutional investors.
