Morgan Stanley has reported a net profit of $4.12bn, or $2.19 per diluted share, for the first quarter (Q1) of 2021, a 143% increase compared to $1.69bn, or $1.01 per diluted share, for the same period last year.
The investment bank has reported net revenues of $15.7bn for Q1 2021, an increase of 61% compared to $9.8bn for the corresponding quarter in 2020.
Morgan Stanley said that the comparisons of current year results to prior periods were impacted by the acquisitions of Eaton Vance, closed on 1 March 2021, reported in the Investment Management segment.
Also, the acquisition of E*TRADE Financial Corp. (E*TRADE) closed in the fourth quarter of 2020, reported in the Wealth Management segment, impacted the results.
Morgan Stanley chairman and CEO James Gorman said: “The Firm delivered record results. The integrated Investment Bank continues to thrive.
“We closed the acquisition of Eaton Vance which takes Investment Management to over $1.4 trillion of assets. Wealth Management brought in record flows of $105bn. The Firm is very well positioned for growth in the years ahead.”
Morgan Stanley’s Institutional Securities business division reported net revenues of $8.6bn for Q1 2021, a 65% increase compared to $5.2bn for Q1 2020.
The Investment Banking division reported an increase of 128% from a year ago
The Wealth Management division reported net revenues of $6bn for Q1 2021, a 46% increase compared to $4.1bn for the same period a year ago.
Investment Management business reported net revenues of $1.3bn for Q1 2021, an increase of 87% compared to $692m for the corresponding quarter in 2020.
