Morgan Stanley promotes fewest since 2002 to most elite rank

Morgan Stanley agreed to sell a business that administers its alternative investment feeder funds to iCapital, a financial-technology firm run by a former Goldman Sachs banker.

Morgan Stanley elevated 130 executives to managing director, according to a person familiar with the matter, marking the smallest wave of annual promotions to the firm’s top rank since 2002.

  • Both Morgan Stanley and have incrementally tightened entry into their highest levels in recent years, burnishing the prestige of the achievement but also reflecting efforts to rein in costs. When Goldman announced partners in late 2018, the class was 18% smaller than two years earlier.
  • The size of Morgan Stanley’s class compares with 145 last year and 153 the year before that. A decade ago, incoming classes topped 200.
  • Women received 25% of the promotions this time, raising their representation among people holding that rank to 21%, the highest yet, the person said, asking not to be named because the breakdown hasn’t been publicly announced.
  • Regionally, 58% of those elevated are in the Americas, with 22% in Asia and 20% in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
  • Within the U.S., 17% of this year’s class are Asian, 4% are black and 4% are Hispanic.
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