Morgan Stanley
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Overview
Morgan Stanley is a financial advisory firm that has its headquarters in Purchase, New York. It controls $904.3 billion in assets over 1.9 million accounts, placing it among the largest financial advisory firms in the United States by assets under management (AUM). It has a very large group of 25,600 employees, fifteen thousand of whom are financial advisors. Morgan Stanley does not act as a registered broker-dealer, meaning the advisor cannot buy and sell securities for its accounts and those of its customers and instead must go through a broker-dealer company to do so. Securities are defined as exchangable financial investments like stocks, options and bonds.
Morgan Stanley manages 1,273,068 of the company's accounts on a discretionary basis. Discretionary management means that a portfolio manager makes buy and sell choices without needing client authorization. The firm also has 590,260 non-discretionary accounts with a total of $289.7 billion in AUM. The advisory firm oversees an average of $485,315 in assets for every customer account. The average financial advisor at Morgan Stanley manages around 124 client accounts.
Morgan Stanley's headquarters is located at 2000 Westchester Avenue, Purchase, New York 10577-2530. It is legally permitted to provide services to customers throughout 50 U.S. states and territories.
Assets Under Management
Number of Advisors
Disclosures
Office Location
Morgan Stanley by the Numbers

$904.3 billion

25,600

1,863,328

$485.3 thousand
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Products and Services
Morgan Stanley offers multiple financial services, which can consist of financial planning services, portfolio management for individuals and small businesses, portfolio management for investment companies, portfolio management for institutional clients, pension consulting services, selection of other advisers, educational seminars and other services. In the past fiscal year, the firm provided 189000 of its accounts with financial planning services. It does sell products or offer services apart from investment advice to its customers. The firm is affiliated with a number of other service providers in the financial services industry, including with a broker-dealer or securities dealer, banking or thrift institution, trust company, insurance company or agency, real estate broker or dealer and commodity pool advisor.
Core Advisor Services
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Offered by 45% of firms
Financial Planning Services
This is the process of planning for your financial future, including for events such as retirement, your child's college education or estate succession.
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Offered by 62% of firms
Portfolio Management
This is the selection and management of an investment mix and portfolio strategy for individuals and small businesses.
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Find a firm that offers this service
Market Timing Services
This is the practice of attempting to make short-term profits on investments by buying low and selling high.
Other Services
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Offered by 23% of firms
Selection of Other Advisors
This is the firm's assistance with choosing other advisors to work with who may have different specialties.
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Publication of Periodicals
This is the publication of various financial education materials.
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Offered by 10% of firms
Educational Seminars/Workshops
This is the hosting of seminars or workshops to educate investors on financial concepts.
Fee Structure
A financial advisor's fees largely depend on the financial services provided. Fees charged by the company most likely consist of the following fee structures: asset-based, fixed, commission-based or other. Morgan Stanley participates in a wrap fee program, in which the company offers a service bundle for a comprehensive fee.
Available
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Offered by 74% of firms
Percentage of Assets
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Offered by 2% of firms
Commissions
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Offered by 40% of firms
Fixed
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Offered by 12% of firms
Other
Unavailable
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Find one of the 35% of firms that offer this fee type
Hourly
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Find one of the 17% of firms that offer this fee type
Performance-based
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Find one of the 1% of firms that offer this fee type
Subscription
Types of Clients
Morgan Stanley does business with a broad range of investors. The firm caters to retail investors, high net worth investors, banking institutions, investment companies, pension plans, charitable organizations, state or municipal government entities, insurance companies, corporations and other. Out of its 1,863,328 clients, Morgan Stanley's biggest client group by number of accounts is retail investors, though it also manages money for 16,433 high-net-worth individuals. A high-net-worth individual is defined by the SEC as an investor who has at least $750,000 in AUM or a net worth of at least $1.50 million or who is deemed a "qualified purchaser" (a standard met by having at least $5 million in investments). Just 1% of the firm's customers are represented by people from outside of the U.S.
- High-Net-Worth Individuals* - 0.88%
- Other Individuals - 96.97%
- Corporations - 2.14%
- Charitable Organizations - 0.02%
* The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) defines a high-net-worth individual as someone who has at least $750,000 under management.
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Disclosures
Morgan Stanley does not have any disclosures.
Please visit its Form ADV for more details.
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Financial Advisors at Morgan Stanley
Baltimore, MD
Atlanta, GA
Newtown Square, PA
Newport Beach, CA
Cleveland, OH
Atlanta, GA
Newport Beach, CA
Miami, FL
Alpharetta, GA
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