Morgan Stanley is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company headquartered at 1585 Broadway in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. With offices in 41 countries and more than 75,000 employees, the firm's clients include corporations, governments, institutions, and individuals. Morgan Stanley ranked No. 61 in the 2021 Fortune 500 list of the largest United States corporations by total revenue.
The original Morgan Stanley, formed by J.P. Morgan & Co. partners Henry Sturgis Morgan (a grandson of J.P. Morgan), Harold Stanley, and others, came into existence on September 16, 1935, in response to the Glass–Steagall Act, which required the splitting of American commercial and investment banking businesses. In its first year, the company operated with a 24% market share (US$1.1 billion) in public offerings and private placements.
The current Morgan Stanley is the result of the merger of the original Morgan Stanley with Dean Witter Discover & Co. in 1997. Dean Witter's Chairman and CEO, Philip J. Purcell, became the Chairman and CEO of the newly merged "Morgan Stanley Dean Witter Discover & Co." The new firm changed its name back to "Morgan Stanley" in 2001. The main areas of business for the firm today are institutional securities, wealth management and investment management. The bank is considered systemically important by the Financial Stability Board.
Overview
Morgan Stanley is a financial services corporation that, through its affiliates and subsidiaries, advises, and originates, trades, manages, and distributes capital for institutions, governments, and individuals. The company operates in three business segments: Institutional Securities, Wealth Management, and Investment Management.
History
The original Morgan Stanley (1935–1997) Morgan Stanley traces its roots to J.P. Morgan & Co. Following the Glass–Steagall Act, it was no longer possible for a corporation to have investment banking and commercial banking businesses under a single holding entity. J.P. Morgan & Co. chose the commercial banking business over the investment banking business. As a result, some of the employees of J.P. Morgan & Co., most notably Henry S. Morgan and Harold Stanley, left J.P. Morgan & Co. and joined others from the Drexel partners to form Morgan Stanley. The firm formally opened its doors for business on September 16, 1935, at 2 Wall Street, New York City, just down the street from J.P. Morgan. The firm was involved with the distribution of 1938 US$100 million (~$ in ) of debentures for the United States Steel Corporation as the lead underwriter. The firm also obtained the distinction of being the lead syndicate in the 1939 U.S. rail financing. The firm went through a reorganization in 1941 to allow for more activity in its securities business.
The firm was led by Perry Hall, the last founder to lead Morgan Stanley, from 1951 until 1961. During this period, the firm co-managed the World Bank's triple-A-rated bonds offering of 1952, as well as coming up with General Motors' US$300 million debt issue, US$231 million IBM stock offering, and the US$250 million AT&T's debt offering.
Morgan Stanley credits itself with having created the first viable computer model for financial analysis in 1962, thereby starting a new trend in the field of financial analysis. Future president and chairman Dick Fisher contributed to the computer model as a young employee, learning the FORTRAN and COBOL programming languages at IBM. In 1967, it established the Morgan & Cie, International in Paris in an attempt to enter the European securities market. The firm acquired Brooks, Harvey & Co., Inc. in 1967 and established a presence in the real estate business. The sales and trading business is believed to be the brainchild of Bob Baldwin.
In 1996, Morgan Stanley acquired Van Kampen American Capital.
Morgan Stanley after the merger (1997–present)