Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) said it has selected Ted Pick to take over as its new Chief Executive Officer, succeeding James Gorman, who has held the position for 14 years and helped shape the Wall Street bank.
Ted Pick, who currently serves as co-president, will assume the role of CEO starting on January 1, after emerging as the top choice over other contenders, Andy Saperstein and Dan Simkowitz.
Andy Saperstein is set to become the head of wealth and investment management, while Dan Simkowitz will take on the roles of co-president and head of institutional securities, according to the firm's announcement.
James Gorman will transition to the role of executive chairman.
Analysts generally consider this choice to be in line with expectations, with Wells Fargo’s analysts noting that Ted Pick has a “tough act to follow.”
“Ted Pick (CEO at 1/1/24) showed success in bringing IS (markets/banking) back to a strong top 5 after near-failure during the GFC. Yet, it is tough to follow a successful CEO of 14 yrs, and unclear what he adds to the other 1/2 of the firm,” analysts said in a client note.
The analysts highlighted three challenges facing the new CEO: big shoes to fill, decelerating wealth growth, and muted IB.
“MS was not as bad as perceived a decade ago and maybe not as good as it is perceived today based on its stock price valuation.”
“Structural repositioning by James Gorman as CEO helped create a more resilient and profitable firm, esp. after nearfailure during the GFC. He has often made unpopular short-term decisions for longterm benefits. Yet, cyclically, momentum seems to be slowing, raising a question as to the degree that the stock price is extrapolating past success too much,” the analysts added.