Morgan Stanley

Record performance in 2Q26 + strong 1H momentum - Morgan Stanley reported record revenues of ~$21.3B and record EPS (ex-CVA) of $3.46; 1H totals: $42B revenue, $6.90 EPS, and 27% return on tangible equity. - ROTCE ~26.6% and year-to-date efficiency ratio 65%; management attributed strength to operating leverage and disciplined execution despite higher execution-related costs and tech investment.

Integrated firm strength: Institutional Securities “record quarter” and Wealth “peak funnel” - Institutional Securities: $11B revenue and $4.3B record pre-tax profit (driven by leading equities and supported by investment banking). - Investment Banking: $2.4B revenues (+58% YoY); Advisory ~$798M, equity underwriting $851M, fixed income underwriting record $788M. - Equities/Markets: $6.3B revenues (record) with strength across products/regions; prime brokerage up YoY and derivatives very strong; rates resilient, FX down vs prior year (volatility near historic lows). - Wealth Management: record $8.9B revenues with record $148B organic net new assets (NNA) and $39B fee-based flows. - Client assets $8T in Wealth; fee-based assets $3T; pre-tax margin 30.5% (record/very strong).

Wealth outlook/trajectory: workplace channel leadership, not “peak” yet - Management emphasized the workplace channel remains a multi-year top-of-funnel engine: ~70% of the top 100 unicorns (by market cap) are in their workplace pipeline. - Expectations: backlog and ongoing client acquisition should continue to convert into advice/fee-based growth; IPO-driven flows ebb and flow by quarter. - Adoption strategy: focused on retaining clients and converting to advisory relationships (referral models, tools like LeadIQ), not just bringing assets in.