Morgan Stanley Mission Statement Analysis

Company: Morgan Stanley
CEO: Ted Pick
Year founded: 1935
Headquarters: Midtown Manhattan, New York City, USA
Number of Employees: 80,000
Type: Public
Ticker Symbol: MS
Market Cap (Jan 2025): $210.32 Billion
Annual Revenue (2024): 103.15 Billion
Profit | Net income (2024): $13.4 Billion

Did you know? In 2020, Morgan Stanley was the first US-based global financial services company to commit to achieving net zero in financed emissions by 2050.

Morgan Stanley is an American financial services firm established in 1935 by Henry Sturgis Morgan, Harold Stanley, and other JP Morgan & Co. partners. It works across three business segments: wealth management, institutional securities, and investment management. Each department is guided by Morgan Stanley’s mission statement, values, and sustainability goals, ensuring uniformity and success throughout the organization. In Jan 2025, Morgan Stanley appointed 173 new managing directors to spearhead its growth strategy. The firm has set up its offices in 42 countries and over 80,000 employees. [1]

Morgan Stanley is a major global investment bank and wealth management firm serving corporations, governments, institutions, and individuals. Its top moneymaker is institutional securities, followed by the wealth and investment management segments. In 2024, Morgan Stanley generated $103.15 in annual revenue compared to $88.29 billion in 2023. Its net income increased from $9.1 billion in 2023 to $13.4 billion in 2024. [2]

Image Source: Bullfincher.io

Morgan Stanley’s Mission Statement

To help individuals, families, institutions, and governments raise, manage, and distribute the capital they need to achieve their goals.

Morgan Stanley states, “We put clients first, from individuals and families to institutions and governments, by helping them raise, manage, and distribute the capital they need to achieve their goals.” The company breaks down its mission statement into four elements: integration with impact, service with perspective, finding the edge, and access to new paths. [3]

Here is our analysis of Morgan Stanley’s mission statement:

1. Provide end-to-end financial solutions (Integration with impact)

Morgan Stanley aims to help customers achieve their financial goals by offering integrated, end-to-end solutions. The firm works as one team, bringing experienced employees, cutting-edge technologies, and 90 years of expertise to clients. Governments, corporations, financial institutions, and high-net-worth individuals can access investment banking services, financial advice, sales and trading, lending, and research via Morgan Stanley’s institutional securities division. [4]

Morgan Stanley’s wealth management segment offers brokerage and investment advisory, retirement and wealth planning, credit, insurance products, and banking. Clients can rely on the investment management department to solve complex investment challenges. Morgan Stanley also offers integrated HR solutions. In Jul 2024, Morgan Stanley at Work launched a pre-login digital website experience for benefits participants. It helps employers and HR teams improve accessibility, foster clarity, and reduce friction in navigating available resources. [5]

2. First-class customer service (Service with perspective)

Morgan Stanley strives for customer service excellence. “We listen more than we talk,” says the company. Listening to clients enhances the understanding, allowing the firm to provide the best-tailored solutions to meet their needs. It achieves this mission by combining traditional strategies and cutting-edge solutions. In 2023, Morgan Stanley launched a ChatGPT-based AI assistant to its wealth management platform.

Morgan Stanley’s AI assistant enhances service delivery by blending human advisors’ wealth management experience with OpenAI-powered other capabilities. The company is expanding this solution across business segments. In 2024, Morgan Stanley launched AskResearchGPT in its institutional securities group and introduced genAI tools for the investment banking and trading division. [6]

3. Enable lucrative discoveries (Finding the unseen edge)

Morgan Stanley strives to help customers anticipate threats and discover effective investment, wealth, and financial risk management strategies. The firm achieves this mission using its Edge portfolio, including Edge AI, The Edge Group, living on the edge, and finding the edge. It also offers AI-powered solutions to simplify clients’ discovery journey. For example, customers can use Morgan Stanley’s AskResearchGPT and genAI tools to discover wealth management, investment banking, and trading insights quickly and easily.

Morgan Stanley produces over 70,000 reports yearly. Each offers insights into investment and financial risk management. For example, Morgan Stanley’s 2024 review analyzed what Trump’s presidential victory means for markets. It helped investors understand how post-election policy shifts might affect the economic landscape and their investment portfolios. [7]

4. Unlock new opportunities (Access to new paths)

Morgan Stanley seeks to help customers achieve their financial goals by allowing them to tap into new opportunities. The firm leverages its data-driven research and global reach to ensure clients can access lucrative investment options worldwide. In Nov 2024, Morgan Stanley released its 2025 investment outlook. This research paper visualizes new opportunities and threats. For example, the firm encourages investors to overweight equities in their portfolios in 2025 with US and Japanese stocks. [8]

Checkout: Largest American Financial Services Companies by Revenue

Morgan Stanley’s Core Values

Morgan Stanley lives by five core values: do the right thing, put clients first, lead with exceptional ideas, commit to diversity & inclusion, and give back to the community. Since its founding, the company has adhered to these principles to deliver excellent customer service and first-class business. “The future growth and long-term success of our firm will ultimately be driven by the depth and talent of our human capital, coupled with the strong values that guide our employees,” said CEO Ted Pick. [9]

Here is a breakdown of Morgan Stanley’s core values:

1. Do the Right Thing

Morgan Stanley values integrity and ethical business operations. The firm encourages workers to think like owners to create long-term shareholder benefits. It also implements this value through compliance training to protect the business. For example, in 2012, the US Department of Justice charged a former Morgan Stanley director with bribery and corruption. Morgan Stanley’s comprehensive compliance training program safeguarded the company by instilling ethics in the workforce. It helped employees manage the litigation with integrity and transparency, protecting the firm’s reputation. [10]

2. Put Clients First

Morgan Stanley cultivates a customer-first mindset organization-wide. It encourages employees to focus on the client’s interests, collaborate with colleagues to deliver first-class service, and fulfill each client’s needs. For example, Guza worked at a grocery store and as a waitress in her teens before joining Morgan Stanley as a financial advisor. She used the communication skills from these jobs to understand and fulfill customers’ needs. In 2017, Forbes named Guza to its inaugural list of Top 500 Millennial Financial Advisors. [11]

3. Lead with Exceptional Ideas

Morgan Stanley values out-of-the-box thinking that drives innovation. “Win by breaking new ground,” says the company. It also encourages its teams to leverage different perspectives to gain new insights and enable continuous improvement. This value is ingrained in the firm’s DNA and leadership. In Jan 2010, James Gorman became Morgan Stanley CEO when the global economy was still reeling from the financial crisis. His exceptional ideas and leadership transformed the company’s corporate culture, created an integrated firm, and tripled its stock price. Gorman completed his 14-year tenure and passed the CEO role to Ted Pick in Jan 2024. [12]

4. Commit to Diversity & Inclusion

Morgan Stanley strives to create an inclusive workplace that values individualism and cultural differences. The firm attracts, develops, and retains talent that reflects the full diversity of society. As of 2023, Morgan Stanley’s workforce was 40% women, 8% black, 9% Hispanic, and 15% Asian. It promotes diversity and inclusion within and beyond its company walls. For example, in 2021, Morgan Stanley enhanced its portfolios to focus on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI). The firm added a donation component to allow Morgan Stanley Wealth Management clients to engage in values-aligned investing and make a philanthropic impact. Morgan Stanley also donates to nonprofits whose missions align with the portfolios’ DEI goals on behalf of investors. [13]

5. Give Back

Morgan Stanley is committed to serving communities with expertise, time, and money. The firm empowers individuals through mentoring and sponsorship to help them achieve their career goals. In 2023, Morgan Stanley and its foundations donated over $160 million to support communities. Its employees have volunteered 3.1 million hours during the Global Volunteer Week since 2006. The company’s Alliance for Children’s Mental Health has reached over 37 million people since its launch in 2020. [14]

Morgan Stanley’s Sustainability Goals

Morgan Stanley strives to be a sustainable finance leader. The company acknowledges the growing impacts of climate change and the importance of working to reduce global emissions. In 2020, Morgan Stanley was the first US-based global financial services firm focused to achieving Paris-aligned net-zero financed emissions by 2050. Its four-part sustainability strategy focuses on transition, climate risk, operations, and transparency.

Morgan Stanley’s sustainability goals include:

Reach net-zero financed emissions by 2050, with 2030 interim targets for the auto and energy sectors.
Mobilize $1 trillion for sustainability-related products by 2030, including $750 billion for low-carbon and green solutions. [15]

How is Morgan Stanley progressing on its sustainability goals?

Morgan Stanley leverages its expertise and resources to help clients decarbonize and achieve their sustainability-related ambitions. The firm provides advice, products, and solutions, driving customers’ transition to a sustainable future. It had accumulated $700 billion for sustainability-related products within two years from 2020 to 2022, edging closer to its 2030 goal of $1 trillion. As of Dec 2023, Morgan Stanley had mobilized over $820 billion for sustainable, low-carbon, and green solutions. [16]

Morgan Stanley operates sustainably across its three business units – institutional securities, investment and wealth management. It strives to enhance its operations’ climate resilience. In 2022, Morgan Stanley achieved carbon neutrality across direct Scope 1 emission, indirect Scope 2, and Scope 3 from business travel and leased assets. The firm maintained a carbon-neutral status and 100% renewable electricity in 2023. It also manages climate risk and provides transparent climate-related disclosures. [17]

References

Morgan Stanley (2024, Jan 10). Morgan Stanley Appoints 173 New Managing Directors. Business Wire
Morgan Stanley (2025, Jan 16). Morgan Stanley reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2024 Earnings Results. MorganStanley.com
Morgan Stanley. About Us: Why Morgan Stanley? MorganStanley.com
Jonas, D. (2024, Nov 23). How Morgan Stanley (MS) Makes Its Money. Investopedia
Morgan Stanley (2024, Jul 29). Morgan Stanley at Work launches New Digital Experience for Financial Benefits Participants. Business Wire
Son, H. (2024, Oct 23). AI on the trading floor: Morgan Stanley expands OpenAI-powered chatbot tools to the Wall Street division. CNBC
Morgan Stanley (2024, Dec 16). 2024 in Review: Elections, Interest Rates, and Market Volatility. MorganStanley.com
Oracle Corp. (2024, Nov 27). 2025 Investment Outlook: Get Ready to Pivot. Oracle.com
Morgan Stanley. About Us: Our Core Values. MorganStanley.com
GRC (2022, Feb 18). Case Study: How Morgan Stanley’s Compliance Training Program Safeguarded the Company during the Garth Peterson FCPA Case. GRC Solutions
Morgan Stanley (2022, Mar 3). Mary Guza learned early the value of putting clients first. MorganStanley.com
Morgan Stanley (2024, Apr 22). Morgan Stanley’s James Gorman: Seizing the Moment. MorganStanley.com
Morgan Stanley (2024, Nov 13). Morgan Stanley Portfolios benefit nonprofit organizations. MorganStanley.com
Morgan Stanley (2024, Feb 22). Giving Back: How we support the communities where we live and work. MorganStanley.com
Morgan Stanley (2021, Apr 31). Morgan Stanley Announces Commitment to Mobilize $1Trillion to Support Sustainability Solutions by 2030, including $750 Billion of Low-Carbon Solutions. MorganStanley.com
Morgan Stanley. Sustainability at Morgan Stanley. MorganStanley.com
Birch, K. (2024, Jan 3). Morgan Stanley’s sustainability strategy by the numbers. Sustainability Magazine
Featured Image by Sven Piper