MORGAN STANLEY

Morgan Stanley has its roots in the early to mid-1900s, tracing back to the history of JP Morgan & Co. and the Dean Witter brokerage house. The firm opened its doors in 1935, growing and going through a major restructuring in 1941 to allow for further expansion. In 1962, Morgan Stanley would create one of the first computer models for financial analysis. From then on the company would expand nationally and internationally, opening an office in Paris by 1967 and in Tokyo by 1970 and acquiring other companies through its Mergers & Acquisitions division in 1971. In 1984, Morgan Stanley would develop the first automated trade processing system, going public in 1986 as the company required more capital for growth. It would continue to expand globally, establishing the Morgan Stanley International Foundation in 1995. In 1997, it would merge with Dean, Witter, Discover & Co., creating the world’s largest securities firm. As the firm continued to hold a dominant role in innovative technologies, underwriting many large global tech IPOs, it would become the top ranked globally in equity trading and underwriting in 2004 under the lead of Phil Purcell. In 2008, Morgan Stanley would become a bank holding company, continuing to acquire companies such as Smith Barney from CitiGroup. Morgan Stanley’s subsidiaries are split into three groups: the Institutional Securities Group, which provides financial advisory and services in equity activities, fixed income securities, and related products; Wealth Management, which includes brokerage and investment advisory services; and Investment Management, which provides investment strategies. Some of its notable mutual funds include the S&P Financials Select Index and some of its ETFs include the S&P 500 SPDR and iShares Core. Morgan Stanley currently operates in 42 countries, having 1300 offices and 60 thousand employees that manage its over $800 billion in total assets.