Morgan Stanley is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company headquartered at 1585 Broadway in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. With offices in 41 countries and more than 75,000 employees, the firm's clients include corporations, governments, institutions, and individuals. Morgan Stanley ranked No. 61 in the 2023 Fortune 500 list of the largest United States corporations by total revenue and in the same year ranked #30 in Forbes Global 2000.
The original Morgan Stanley, formed by J.P. Morgan & Co. partners Henry Sturgis Morgan (a grandson of J.P. Morgan), Harold Stanley, and others, came into existence on September 16, 1935, in response to the Glass–Steagall Act, which required the splitting of American commercial and investment banking businesses. In its first year, the company operated with a 24% market share (US$1.1 billion) in public offerings and private placements.
The current Morgan Stanley is the result of the merger of the original Morgan Stanley with Dean Witter Discover & Co. in 1997. Dean Witter's chairman and CEO, Philip J. Purcell, became the chairman and CEO of the newly merged "Morgan Stanley Dean Witter Discover & Co." The new firm changed its name back to "Morgan Stanley" in 2001. The main areas of business for the firm today are institutional securities, wealth management and investment management. The bank is considered systemically important by the Financial Stability Board.