The Bull Case For Morgan Stanley (MS) Could Change Following ETF AUM Milestone And New Debt Issuance

• Morgan Stanley recently completed several fixed-income offerings totaling about US$22.76 million in senior unsecured notes maturing between 2030 and 2035, while its investment management arm reported that its ETF platform surpassed US$10.00 billion in assets under management across 18 products.
• Beyond adding new funding and products, this growth in ETFs underscores how Morgan Stanley is deepening fee-based, recurring revenue streams across its wealth and asset management franchise.
• We’ll now examine how the rapid expansion of Morgan Stanley’s US$10.00 billion-plus ETF platform may influence its existing investment narrative.

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Morgan Stanley Investment Narrative Recap

To own Morgan Stanley, you generally need to believe its wealth and asset management engine can keep compounding fee-based revenues while investment banking remains a solid complement. The rapid build-out of its US$10.00 billion-plus ETF platform and the latest US$22.76 million in senior note issuance do not materially alter the near term earnings catalyst or the key risk of margin pressure if fee growth slows.

The ETF milestone is the most relevant recent announcement, because it sits directly at the intersection of Morgan Stanley’s growth ambitions in recurring fees and the broader shift toward lower cost products. As the firm expands from 6 to 18 ETFs across active fixed income, responsible investing and derivative income, the question for investors is whether this product breadth strengthens its wealth franchise without diluting pricing power.

Yet beneath the ETF growth story, investors should be aware of how rising passive adoption could still compress long term advisory margins and...

Read the full narrative on Morgan Stanley (it's free!)

Morgan Stanley's narrative projects $76.0 billion revenue and $17.2 billion earnings by 2028.

Uncover how Morgan Stanley's forecasts yield a $169.52 fair value, a 4% downside to its current price.

Exploring Other Perspectives

Seven fair value estimates from the Simply Wall St Community span roughly US$102 to US$170 per share, showing how differently you and other investors may view Morgan Stanley. Against that backdrop, the tension between ETF driven fee growth and the risk of long term margin compression in wealth management could prove central to how the company’s performance is ultimately judged.

Explore 7 other fair value estimates on Morgan Stanley - why the stock might be worth 42% less than the current price!

Build Your Own Morgan Stanley Narrative

Disagree with existing narratives? Create your own in under 3 minutes - extraordinary investment returns rarely come from following the herd.

• A great starting point for your Morgan Stanley research is our analysis highlighting 4 key rewards and 2 important warning signs that could impact your investment decision.
• Our free Morgan Stanley research report provides a comprehensive fundamental analysis summarized in a single visual - the Snowflake - making it easy to evaluate Morgan Stanley's overall financial health at a glance.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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