Morgan Stanley Wealth-Management Fees Climb to All-Time High
- Brokerage profit sets record for fourth straight quarter
- Shares rise as firm boosts target for return on equity
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Record stock markets have been good to Morgan Stanley.
The firm’s wealth-management fees climbed to a record in the fourth quarter as the S&P 500 Index reached an all-time high. The company beat its target cost ratio for the year and posted the highest profitability under Chief Executive Officer James Gorman, who has pinned his strategy on the crisis-era acquisition of Citigroup Inc.’s Smith Barney brokerage. The shares rose as the company boosted its target for return on equity.