Investment banking

Cloning funds and shifting client cash may be Wall Street’s best hope for challenging the dominance of firms like State Street, BlackRock and Vanguard.

Almost a year after taking over at the firm's investment bank, co-heads Piero Novelli and Rob Karofsky are working on their first shake-up of the business.

Profitability is improving and all divisions, except the firm’s biggest — wealth management — surprised the market on the upside.

On the wealth management side, Morgan Stanley posted $4.41 billion of revenue, which was 2% higher than last year and blew away analysts’ estimates for a 9% decline.

The purchase gives the firm, which relies on the U.S. for nearly all revenue, a foothold in Canada.

BlackRock will appoint an “independent fiduciary to vote” on proxies, according to a spokesman.

The firm’s fixed income and currencies trading unit head is among the high-profile executives to leave, according to people familiar with the matter.

The deal will give Janney greater access to the community banking sector.

The robo advisor rolled out a new partnership with a handful of banks to give clients a fully insured place to keep their cash.

Goldman Sachs is looking to sell more services to midsize companies under a plan to generate $5 billion in additional revenue.