Wall Street’s real-life “Succession” has ended
One of Wall Street’s most closely watched succession races is over as Ted Pick prepares to become Morgan Stanley’s next chief executive. He will take the baton in January from James Gorman, who since 2010 has transformed the firm from an investment bank into an asset-management behemoth.
The path laid out by Gorman has made Morgan Stanley the envy of the financial world and helped it outpace its longtime rival, Goldman Sachs. Pick will face the challenge of keeping the momentum going as volatile markets weigh down core businesses such as deal making.
Pick won a contest worthy of an HBO drama. Morgan Stanley’s board selected him over Andy Saperstein, who leads wealth management, and Dan Simkowitz, who oversees asset management. Those divisions have both been growing fast.
But Pick, a Morgan Stanley lifer who oversees investment banking and trading, is familiar with the most complex parts of the firm, making him in some ways the safest option. (Morgan Stanley is seeking to keep Saperstein and Simkowitz, making both co-presidents and giving them expanded portfolios.)
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