Vault’s Verdict

One of the most prestigious financial institutions in the world, Morgan Stanley is ideally looking for well-rounded, technically-sound, intellectual curious, motivated fast-learners with integrity, strong communication skills, and a specific interest in the firm. For students, Morgan Stanley runs highly valuable internship programs. Investment banking interns get a lot of early responsibility on live transactions, while sales and trading interns get the ability to rotate on multiple desks, shadowing salespeople and traders. All interns get access to senior professionals, training, and many networking opportunities. Meanwhile, the firm’s full-time professionals have access to extensive growth opportunities, including significant early responsibility, mentoring, formal training programs, and internal mobility options (the ability to move to other teams or divisions within the firm).

Depending on which group you work in, hours can be long and unpredictable and it can be difficult to disconnect while on vacation. However, Morgan Stanley supports work/life balance, and senior professionals are generally very accommodating, honoring juniors’ personal commitments. While compensation is competitive, insiders say the firm’s bonuses are typically below average and salaries are merely average. Benefits, though, are very generous and include numerous wellness offerings, including gym discounts, free meditation apps, nutrition education, and free counseling.

DE&I is another strong suit at Morgan Stanley, according to insiders. With respect to Morgan Stanley’s business outlook, the future is very bright. The firm continues to grow its investment banking and wealth management businesses, building on their long histories of success. Firm goals are communicated effectively. And employees have a lot of confidence in the firm’s excellent leadership team, including CEO Ted Pick.

EMPLOYEE REVIEWS

Hiring Process

“The ideal candidate is someone who is intelligent, able to think outside the box, able to dig into data to look for patterns and issues that may be monetizable and is respectful and easy to work with.”

“The firm is not necessarily looking for individuals with a finance or economics educational background but for highly motivated individuals who bring different perspective to the table. They want to work with fast learners who have a keen interest in the culture of our firm.”

“The firm's interview process is very competitive. The process takes time; the hiring timeline is never going to be as quick as the candidate wants. The ideal candidate is a thoughtful, execution-oriented person. Someone who can learn quickly, analyze information, make connections and provide actionable insights. Strong communication, analytical, problem-solving skills.” 

“Our firm has three to four rounds of interviews, including an initial HR screen, one to two rounds of an interview with a hiring manager and future colleague, and a senior management interview for more senior roles. The ideal candidates need to possess the required skills, have integrity, are willing and able to learn quickly, and have good problem-solving skills.”

Interview Questions

“Give an example of a time you made a mistake on something you were working on. a) How did you discover the problem? b) What did you do to communicate the issue to others? c) What did you do to fix the issue? d) Were any steps taken to prevent the mistake from happening again? Case Study: You are on the COO team for Starbucks with responsibility to review and model performance for locations. a) You are building a dashboard on the performance of individual locations—what metrics would you include (hint: financial and non-financial)? b) What would you display the data with—charts or graphs? c) What would change if the dashboard were for your use versus senior management’s?”

“What about our culture do you align with? What is your favorite class you ever took? Tell me about something you have been following in the market? Monetary vs fiscal policy? Tell me about a mistake you made and how you handled it?”

“1) What is your familiarity with our division and how is it different from others? 2) Why Morgan Stanley? 3) What are the different ways that companies can raise capital? Difference of debt vs. equity?”

“Talk about a deal you find interesting. Value a hot dog stand in Times Square. What type of manager or management style do you prefer? What does your ideal workday look like in regard to overall structure (team-based, independent, etc.)?”

Intern Experience

“I had a very positive internship experience. I was very happy with the rotational program, learned so much from my team, and my hours were very reasonable. I also had the chance to network and make a lot of connections.”

“Great live deal exposure, lean teams, and a steep learning curve. The best part was the exposure and responsibility given to me early on. The aspect that could have been better was the work/life balance I had at the time.”

“The best aspects of the internship were the people I got to meet throughout. Morgan Stanley does an excellent job of scheduling intern events to meet seniors throughout the firm and make sure that the interns get a strong understanding of the culture—not only of the firm as a whole but also the team-specific culture that varies throughout investment banking.”

“The Morgan Stanley Sales and Trading internship experience is an action-packed 10 weeks of experiential learning. You have the ability to rotate on multiple desks, shadowing salespeople, structurers, and traders, taking your learnings and implementing them on projects. You also hear from senior MDs and have a suite of networking events to learn about broader S&T careers and the industry at large. It is an intense experience and a lot of work, but very rewarding.”

Career Development

“If you perform, you have an ability to substantially accelerate your career, be it gaining expertise, taking on meaningful responsibility at a relatively early stage, or rotating teams/offices to gain exposure to different perspectives. Juniors are encouraged to contribute and there is real recognition that solutions are not always driven by seniors.”

“The firm makes it a point to reward its top performers. The firm understands its people are its best asset, and making sure top performing employees are rewarded is critical to business success. Like any established firm, there is a general timeline for promotion, which can be frustrating if you feel you are operating ahead of schedule.”

“Morgan Stanley provides a very open environment where employees are free to talk about their goals, and the firm works to make them possible. On my team alone, we have multiple associates, VPs, etc., who have transferred from other teams to explore investment banking.”

“Plenty of new analyst programs and firmwide events that analysts can take part in and learn from. My calendar is always full of cultural and professional development events. They value mentorship and internal mobility—they do not want to lose top talent if employees are interested in other areas of the firm.”

Quality of Life

“My team appreciates and highlights taking time off and providing a solid work/life balance. I have limited amounts of work on the weekends, and I feel that everyone is respectful of my time in and out of the office.”

“Lots of work and lean teams means that you have a lot of exposure and experience to clients and deals. However, that comes at the cost of longer hours and limited ability to take true vacation time where you are fully unplugged.”

“The firm is deliberate about implementing policies that support good quality of life. In recent months, the firm has hired several lateral associates to support the number of MDs and increased deal flow we are experiencing. The staffer does a great job managing people’s vacation requests so you don’t have to be ‘available’ when you are away.”

“The team is generally very accommodating on honoring personal commitments and protecting personal life. However, it is exceptionally difficult to ever disconnect. I personally have canceled vacations each of the past few years, so now only schedule in the few windows where things are slowest (and even then, it’s prone to interruption).”

Salary and Benefits

“Salary is on par with other bulge bracket banks. Historically, bonuses have been below Street level, but my stub bonus was higher than what my friends at other bulge bracket banks received.”

“The salary is extremely competitive for entry-level analysts, but there isn't much transparency about bonuses.”

“The firm’s compensation package within investment banking is strong but slightly weaker than peers with respect to performance bonuses at the junior level. I feel we are fairly compensated overall in comparison to other investment banks, but year-end bonuses are typically lower. Our healthcare package monthly payment is also more expensive than most other similar investment banks.”

“Salary and bonus in aggregate is below market, but balanced work/life and good culture and the benefit package is extraordinary. Absence of flexibility to WFH is unfortunate. Five days a week in-office is too much in current times.”

Wellness Efforts

“Free access to the Calm meditation app, free counselling services. Behavioral health services are covered, and some free therapy sessions are included each year. Gym on site is subsidized and is one of the best benefits. Personal training is offered, as are group fitness classes. Massage chairs, actual massages, and wellness/meditation rooms are available. Nursing mothers have many dedicated areas for pumping equipped with a hospital grade pump, fridge and sink.”

“Extensive offers for employees, including great packages for gyms, meditation, nutrition education, counseling (a significant number of sessions are paid for by the firm), health benefits, insurance benefits, access to various professionals (legal, etc.). The firm really puts their money where their mouth is to support their employees (and dependents).”

“There are affinity groups with dedicated organizers and excellent programming, support networks, and countless resources for wellness alongside Gympass benefits and other perks.”

“They subsidize our membership to Gym Hub, which allows us to go to a bunch of gyms. We have free access to One Medical. We have free counseling. Morgan Stanley makes a concerted effort to promote their employees’ mental well-being. There are tons of resources provided to us and I feel comfortable discussing any potential issues with my managers.”

Diversity and ESG Initiatives

“The best part of the firm’s diversity and inclusion effort is that the firm is very intentional in recruiting a diverse population both for summer internships and regular hiring, especially women and veterans. The firm has many LGBTQ+ employees and they are treated with respect (the same as any other employees).”

“The firm has employee networking groups that help to facilitate support of diversity and inclusion. The firm does a wonderful job in their hiring process to allow for a diverse group of workers to better represent all of the types of people/companies we work alongside. The firm has also made a commitment to diversity and inclusion and proactively works on this in many ways, as it is one of our core values. MS can do a better job promoting diverse individuals to senior leadership roles, especially women.”

“Morgan Stanley is heavily and unabashedly committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion. These individuals are prioritized in recruiting and there are select programs (such as the Experienced Professionals Program) that only recruit DEI individuals. Morgan Stanley's Next Level fund has an accelerator for diverse entrepreneurs.”

“They have a very philanthropic culture. One of our core values is giving back. The best part is that service is highly encouraged. The firm offers a number of philanthropic events to all employees across all areas of ESG. These are regularly communicated and attended.”

Business Outlook

“Morgan Stanley has been effective in setting its vision for the firm under the leadership of James Gorman and now Ted Pick: the ballast of Wealth Management and the engine of the Investment Bank. Ted Pick has also been successful in furthering the integration of the investment bank.”

“The renewed focus on the integrated firm is extremely easy to see. The cross-team collaboration efforts are everywhere and have paved the road for efficient and successful business practices. The firm’s business outlook seems very good to me. We are second in M&A and are busy. Wealth management is very consistent.”

“We have a history of success, and I have confidence in new and existing leadership. Goals are communicated effectively to all. We have an excellent leadership team. We are poised for success as the cycle for investment banking turns positive.”

“Can only speak for my team, but our team has been very stable amidst significant changes in the firm. People here work well together, and if that’s any indication of how the larger firm operates, then the consistency and teamwork definitely bode well for MS’s future.”