Overview
Introduction
Morgan Stanley is one of the most highly respected financial institutions in the world. Its name on your resume will open doors throughout your career. Morgan Stanley is a global leader in mergers and acquisitions, IPO underwriting, investment management, and wealth management. It's also passionate about philanthropic efforts, especially when it comes to assisting children and those in dire financial need. Recently, the firm made great strides when it comes to creating a more diverse workforce.
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Vault Verdict
One of the most prestigious financial institutions in the world, Morgan Stanley is ideally looking for technically-sound, competent, honest, hardworking, accountable candidates who fit well into the firm’s culture. For students, the firm runs a rewarding internship program. Interns have access to valuable training and hands-on experience, and get a clear look at what a full-time role with Morgan Stanley is like. Some internships offer a rotational aspect, giving interns exposure to a variety of desks or products, allowing them to discover their best fits. Meanwhile, the firm’s full-time junior bankers have access to an excellent formal mentorship program, a culture that fosters the development of juniors, frequent opportunities to network with leadership, and ample internal mobili...
About the Company
New York-headquartered investment banking giant Morgan Stanley is divided into three main businesses: Institutional Securities, Investment Management, and Wealth Management. Institutional Securities includes M&A advisory, restructuring, real estate, project finance, capital raising, equity and fixed income sales and trading, and corporate lending. Investment Management includes institutional investment products and mutual funds across a range of fixed income, equity, and alternative investments. Wealth Management provides financial planning and wealth management services, annuities and insurance, and brokerage and investment advisory services that cover a wide range of investment alternatives.
The firm’s history can be traced to 1935, when J.P. Morgan & Co. partners Henry S. Morgan (grandson of J.P. Morgan) and Haro...
Employee Reviews
“The firm promotes a good work/life balance and encourages PTO. Although hours can be long when deal work necessitates, in general the firm doesn’t want you working long hours if you don’t have to.”
“The firm is very flexible, letting the teams choose the numbers of days they work-from-home and come into the office (three days in the office is the minimum). This is a huge value add to an employee’s quality of life, as most of the Wall Street firms are now asking employees to come in four to five days a week.”
“The nature of the job mandates that you’re spending around 12 hours in the office working each weekday and several hours on Sunday. However, Morgan Stanley does a good job of cultivating an understanding culture where juniors are able to WFH at the late hours of the night and on weekends.”
“The best part is that the firm and its culture are very supportive of time with family. I have never felt shunned or like I was doing something wrong for taking time to be with family or take my earned vacation time. The worst part is we are all just very busy, and I think most roles in the firm (especially if you want to be high-performing) are very demanding. It is hard to get your work done within in-office hours.”
Why Work Here
At Morgan Stanley, a corporate culture in which everyone feels they belong is fundamental to our role as a global leader, constantly striving for excellence in all that we do.
You are encouraged to use your creativity to tackle complex problems: If you are someone who enjoys stretching yourself professionally, who is excited to take on new and complex challenges every day, you’ll find a way to build a gratifying career at Morgan Stanley.
You’ll find opportunities to innovate every day, including as a technologist (that’s right—a technologist): Working in technology at a financial services firm offers many of the same exciting opportunities for innovation that big tech companies and startups do, while delivering the sort of variety, mobility, autonomy and resources other companies can’t.
You’ll have the chance to work at a company where diversity is highly-valued: Our employees represent a wealth of different backgrounds and bring their unique perspectives, ideas and experiences to whatever role they take on, helping cultivate a workplace that is resilient, results-driven and effective.
You’ll be encouraged to give back to your community: Morgan Stanley employees create meaningful, lasting social impact, whether they are working at food banks during our Global Volunteer Month every June or offering expertise as part of our annual pro bono initiative.
Getting Hired Here
“The interview process can be a bit long. If there’s a strong candidate, the team will usually want to include most people on the team to ensure that the candidate is a good fit from a culture and personality perspective. I think the firm is looking for people who are competent, honest, hardworking, and accountable.”
“There's typically a HireVue, phone call, and Superday, assuming you get all the way through. I think the firm does a great job looking for people who have the potential to be a culture carrier. That comes in many forms, but this firm is big on mentorship, buying into a bigger mission, adding value to your team. You can start to get a sense of people’s ability to do that just by having a few conversations with them.”
“The ideal candidate is very competent and, possibly more importantly, high in warmth/charisma as well. MS values employees who maintain the firm’s culture, so a lot of behavioral/get-to-know-you questions will be addressed once the financial technicals have been ‘passed.’”
“Morgan Stanley is looking for the smartest candidates technically who also have a sense of how to execute commercially. That involves leadership, judgement, EQ, and business awareness.”
Perks & Benefits