Morgan Stanley Has Been Transformed by Wealth Management. Now, It's Doubling Down.

A few years ago, the large Wall Street bank Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) traded in the middle of its peer group when it came to valuation. Morgan Stanley achieved this by building out a growing stream of wealth and investment management revenue that has been more consistent and durable than its large investment banking and trading businesses. Wealth and investment management has also allowed Morgan Stanley to generate high returns and has also been more capital efficient, which is a big plus as banks continue to need to hold more regulatory capital.