Morgan Stanley's latest quarter supports the franchise argument. The valuation makes the next proof harder. Wealth Management gathered $148.1 billion of net new assets, up from $59.2 billion a year earlier, while return on tangible common equity reached 26.6%.
The shares traded near $215 on August 7 at roughly 4.05 times tangible book value, up from about 3.2 times a year earlier. MS also lagged several large financial peers over the prior month as the market questioned the quality and distribution of AI-linked corporate debt. The August 12 inflation report and the reception of large financings will test whether that divergence is temporary.
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