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Morgan Stanley
“M
Weighted
average
scores
2016
2017
2018
6.06
6.16
6.04
2016
6.06
2017
6.16
2018
6.04
gral over the years in providing help and unbiased feedback on
organ Stanley have been a fantastic counterparty in
options profile
for our business.” Morgan Stanley will not be surprised
helping us build our strategy and business,” writes a Respondent
to do less well on fixed income, and the client who “would love
client. The investment bank might jib at being characterised as
Small fund
59%
to do ‘away
repo’” is unlikely to be granted his wish.
a mere counterparty. As another manager puts it, working with managers
8%
Morgan Stanley is “really a partnership
Weighted arrangement where we Medium-
average
work together to solve issues and
problems.” For the firm, which sized fund
33%
scores
invented the business in the 1980s,
and reinvented it during the managers
33%
2016
6.06
2018
Large fund 2017
financial crisis and its aftermath,
prime brokerage
remains at 2016
59%
8%
2017
6.16
6.06
6.16
6.04
the heart of its equities division. Morgan Stanley attracted more managers
PROFILE
OF
RESPONDENTS
2018
6.04
Americas
49%
than twice as many responses as its nearest competit or, and
Europe and
both scores and comments suggest
its
people
are
living
up
to
24%
Respondent profile
the corporate ambition of partnering with clients and delivering Middle East
By 27%
size
By location
Asia
fund to assist, at the expense
the whole firm to them. “Always Small
willing
59%
managers
of P&L on occasions,” says one client.
Another notices, “They Weighted average
8% scores by service area
Medium-
work closely as a team so coverage
is consistently good.” A third
27%
33%
Americas
Large
applauds “a great team, they are sized
very fund
pro-active,
always looking
Weighted
+/- the
managers
49%
Europe and
33%
global
for ways to reduce margins and costs in order to benefit us and Service area average
Medium
Large fund
59% average
Middle East
score
8%
100% transparent on issues.” Certainly, the scoring
of sales and
Small
managers
Capital
24%
Asia
marketing, which measures client
perceptions
of
how
accurately
Americas
49%
5.65
5.3%
introduction
the firm values business, indicates
most
managers
think
Morgan
Europe and
s
24%
Stanley helps them as well as itself.
One
Middle
East client says that Mor-
Client
6.43
7.0%
gan Stanley “react if we need to Asia
check fees and
[are]
happy
to
27%
service
teach related calculation skills.” A second adds that “our team is Consulting
6.1%
6.21
Weighted
scores
by service
area
always very up-front with us and
points average
us in the
right
direction.
Operations
6.34 scores 6.3%
Weighted
average
27%
We trust that the information they give us is mutually benefi- Technology
8.8%
6.09
2016
2017
2018
+/- the
cial.” A third observes that “conditions were Weighted
then re-negotiated
49%
Service area
average
global
Product
6.06
6.16
6.04
and we are now happy.”
5.92
8.5%
score
average
development
The detailed scores show that Capital
clients believe Morgan Stanley
24%
could do more for them on margin
terms, netting,
5.65 cross-margin-
5.3%
introduction
Risk
5.79
4.0%
ing and collateral eligibility and s valuations, but that is common management
Weighted average scores by service area
to every prime broker in this survey.
Client In the linked fields of
6.43
7.0%
Service area 5.86
Weighted average +/- the global
2.1%
Asset safety
service are virtually indistinguish-
operations and technology, the scores
score
average
Sales
and
6.1%
Consulting
6.27
2.3%
able. “Operations sets Morgan Stanley
apart,” 6.21
argues a client.
marketing
Capital
introductions
5.65
5.3%
6.34 human 6.3%
“Technology as the foundation, Operations
and phenomenal
capital.” Trading and
3.9%
Technology
Client service 6.08
6.43
7.0%
A second client agrees that operations
people 6.09
are “very 8.8%
strong execution
technically and can answer most Product
of our questions very rapidly;
Consulting
6.21
6.1%
5.92
8.5%
very efficient equity swap/corporate
actions teams.
Matching
development
Operations
6.34
6.3%
rate on Traiana is consistently high across cash and swap. Very
Technology
6.09
8.8%
Risk
reactive.” The drive to raise rates
of automation
does not 4.0%
please
5.79
management
everyone all the time (“Everything
is required to go through
Product development
5.92
8.5%
their portals; however, when there
limitation[s]
on their
2.1%
Asset are
safety
5.86
Risk management
5.79
4.0%
portals, they are not willing to take
manual instruction”), and
Sales a and
6.27
2.3%
Asset safety
5.86
2.1%
at least one client has clearly not marketing
yet encountered Matrix on his
Sales
and
marketing
6.27
2.3%
Trading enhanced,
and
mobile. “Would like mobile reporting
right now,”
he
6.08
3.9%
execution
says. “I feel Morgan Stanley is the
most technology-advanced
Trading and execution
6.08
3.9%
PB out there, but adding mobile capabilities would be incredibly
Delta 1, swaps and financing
5.91
3.3%
useful.” Even in the Cinderella services of capital introductions
Stock borrowing and lending
6.13
2.7%
and consulting, Morgan Stanley clears the benchmarks. Raising
Foreign
exchange
prime
brokerage
5.91
4.2%
assets is a field in which it is impossible to please everybody
(“have not been invited to Breakers conference,” muses one
Fixed income
5.68
-1.6%
client), but there is recognition for “very experienced employees
OTC clearing
6.03
3.0%
who understand the industry and have a deep Rolodex of con-
Listed derivatives
6.16
4.6%
tacts.” Likewise, the consulting teams are seen as “our first-ask
when looking to add any service providers and have been inte-
Total
6.04
4.2%
86
Global Custodian
The Hedge Fund Annual 2018