Ted Pick is Morgan Stanley’s new leader. Where does it go from here? 

Ted Pick is Morgan Stanley's new leader. Where does it go from here?

“There will be a change in leadership, but there will not be a change in strategy,” said Pick.

by SARA KHAIRI

'Who will succeed James Gorman at Morgan Stanley?' echoed in Wall Street's nooks and crannies since May this year when James Gorman, the current CEO of the bank voiced his intention to call it a day and step down from his position.

After an extended internal discussion that lasted from summer to fall about who deserves the crown of leadership among the three internal candidates, Ted Pick, Andy Saperstein, and Dan Simkowitz -- the question has finally been answered.

Ted Pick, who currently heads the institutional securities division, which includes the bank's investment banking and trading unit, is the chosen one and has been appointed as the new CEO of the Wall Street firm. At 54 and with a career spanning over three decades at Morgan Stanley, the incoming CEO will take the reins of the institution beginning in 2024. 

The other contender, Andy Saperstein, was already allocated additional responsibilities as the global head of wealth management since the time he was being considered for the chief executive role. Dan Simkowitz is now co-president of Morgan Stanley and head of institutional securities.

Pick received his MBA from the Harvard Business School. He joined Morgan Stanley in 1990 and worked his way up after being promoted to Managing Director in 2002. He witnessed Gorman establish a solid footing for the Wall Street bank fresh off the 2008 financial crisis by reworking its framework, as he propelled the firm beyond its staple investment business, which was on a tightrope back then, while he also scaled up the wealth management business. During that time, Pick was the Head of Equity Capital Markets and worked alongside Gorman helping the firm actively raise capital by making progress with some of the eminent IPO deals at the time, including Google, China Construction Bank, and Blackstone.

“I have worked side by side with Ted since the financial crisis and have experienced first-hand his values, intellect, passion, and commitment to our people and our clients," said Gorman in a statement.

The present and incoming CEOs might have different management styles. What they both share, however, is a shrinking economy and growing macroeconomic pressures at the time of assuming control. Morgan Stanley has stumbled of late. The recent quarterly earnings were overall a miss, with its main engine --  wealth management division -- missing analysts' revenue expectations. The picture was equally bleak across the rest of the divisions.

With a dent in wealth management and investment banking divisions and the stock losing 17% of its value this year, Pick will likely have to brace himself before turning to face new challenges the inner and outer environments may bring along as he ushers in a new era.

While clarity on management roles goes in favor of the stock, analyst forecasts are optimistic on average following the announcement. "The expectation is that the growth of mergers and acquisitions in the next couple of years will be high, and that has been Pick's core competency, so we view it as a good move," said Brian Mulberry, analyst at Zacks Investment Management.

He added that Pick brings "stability and experience" that might turn out to be a bonanza for shareholders, something they have been concerned about since the last few quarters.

Market recap

A week of earnings showdown, but the return of the stock market's mojo is still questionable

Deutsche Bank (DB) - up 7% to $10.93 per share

• Deutsche Bank reported third-quarter earnings on Wednesday.
• The shares soared following its earnings results. Net profit came in at $1.06 billion, beating profit expectations with a thin margin, welcoming its thirteenth straight profitable quarter. The bank also promised to increase shareholder payouts.

Upstart (UPST) - down 13% to $23.14 per share

• Upstart shares are down more than 90% to date from all-time highs and are even below its debut price.
• Although the company has yet to report its third-quarter earnings, all investors can see is a bleak outlook with sales declining and profits having a negative margin.

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