Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in theMorgan Stanley Building, Midtown Manhattan, New York City.^[4] Morgan Stanley operates in 42 countries, and has more than 1300 offices and 60,000 employees.^[5] The company reports US$304 billion in assets under management or supervision.^[3]

The corporation, formed by J.P. Morgan & Co. partners Henry S. Morgan (grandson of J.P. Morgan), Harold Stanleyand others, came into existence on September 16, 1935, in response to the Glass-Steagall Act that required the splitting of 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 main areas of business for the firm today are Global Wealth Management, Institutional Securities, and Investment Management.