Morgan Stanley

1585 Broadway

New York, NY 10036

212-761-4000

www.morganstanley.com

 

2003 net revenues: $20.9 billion

2003 net income: $3.7 billion

2003 investment banking revenues: $2.4 billion

 

2003 total capital: $82.7 billion

 

2003 total employees: 51,196

 

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer: Philip J. Purcell  

 

The company's 2003 10-K states that Morgan Stanley is a global financial services firm that maintains leading market positions in each of its business segments.

 

History

In 1924 Dean Witter started a San Francisco brokerage firm. The company served wealthy clients regionally for the next 40 years. In 1977 it merged with Reynolds Securities, which was founded by Richard Reynolds Jr., the grandnephew of the founder of R. J. Reynolds Tobacco. The newly formed Dean Witter Reynolds became the number two brokerage firm (after Merrill Lynch) and one of the top ten underwriters in the U.S.

 

In the 1980s the company went through several mergers and restructurings. In 1998 it merged with Morgan Stanley, which had been started as an investment bank in 1935, after the Glass-Steagall Act required J. P. Morgan to sell off its securities related businesses. The newly merged company was called Morgan Stanley Dean Witter & Co. initially, but renamed to Morgan Stanley in 2002.

 

Morgan Stanley was one of Wall Street firms that settled with the SEC over alleged conflicts of interest between its research and investment banking functions and problems with disclosure of its mutual funds fees and commissions. Another high profile case involved the French luxury goods manufacturer LVMH, which accused the company of biased research that damaged its reputation and favored rival Gucci.

 

Business Segments

 

The company's four main business segments are:

Institutional Securities

Individual Investor Group

Investment Management

Credit Services.

Morgan Stanley’s Institutional Securities business segment includes Investment Banking and other financial services.

 

Investment Banking includes securities underwriting and distribution, financial advisory services and corporate lending. 

 

The company's underwriting business involves managing and participating in public offerings and private placements of debt, equity and other securities. It is a leading underwriter of fixed income securities, including investment grade debt, non-investment grade instruments, mortgage-related and other asset-backed securities, tax-exempt securities and commercial paper and other short-term securities.

 

Income/Revenues from Business Segments

The company had a record net income of $3.7 billion in 2003, a 27 percent increase from 2002. Net revenues increased 9 percent to $20.9 billion.
 

In 2003 total investment banking revenues were $2.4 billion. Underwriting revenues increased 18 percent compared to 2002 to $1.4 billion. The increase in underwriting revenue was attributed to the company's increasing market share and the overall increase in fixed-income underwriting.