Eaton Vance Morgan Stanley Partnership for Financial Growth

The Eaton Vance Morgan Stanley Partnership for Financial Growth is a collaboration between two well-established financial institutions. It aims to provide investors with a comprehensive range of investment products and services.

This partnership leverages the strengths of both Eaton Vance and Morgan Stanley to offer a unique value proposition to clients. By combining their expertise, they can provide more effective investment solutions.

Eaton Vance brings its expertise in active management and research to the table, while Morgan Stanley contributes its global reach and distribution capabilities.

Morgan Stanley is on a buying spree, with its latest acquisition being Eaton Vance for a whopping $7 billion.

The firm has been shifting its focus to less flashy, but steadier, fee-based businesses, a trend that's becoming increasingly popular in the financial industry.

Morgan Stanley's CEO, James Gorman, is no stranger to asset management, having run Merrill Lynch's brokerage business in the past.

The acquisition of Eaton Vance will bring Morgan Stanley's investment management division to oversee around $1.2 trillion in assets and generate more than $5 billion in sales.

With this deal, Morgan Stanley is hoping to persuade analysts to view it more like Charles Schwab, which trades at about 20 times earnings, double the multiples of Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs.

Morgan Stanley's investment management and wealth management businesses already account for just over half of the firm's revenue, and with Eaton Vance on board, it's expected to boost these businesses even further.

The deal is expected to close in the second quarter of next year, subject to closing conditions.

Morgan Stanley's acquisition of Eaton Vance marks the latest in a string of takeovers for the US institution, following its $13 billion acquisition of E-Trade earlier this year.

The combined entity will oversee $4.4 trillion of client assets and AuM upon closure of the deal, making it a significant player in the financial industry.

Morgan Stanley sold 1,335,192 shares of Eaton Vance Floating-rate Income Trust (EFT) at $12.88 per share on September 30, 2024.

The transaction marked a significant shift in Morgan Stanley's investment strategy regarding EFT.

Morgan Stanley's remaining stake in EFT stands at 1,451,496 shares after the sale.

Morgan Stanley's investment management division would oversee roughly $1.2 trillion in assets and generate more than $5 billion in sales after the acquisition of Eaton Vance.

The deal is a strategic move to bulk up Morgan Stanley's wealth and investment management business, which already accounts for just over half of the firm's revenue.

James Gorman, Morgan Stanley's CEO, aims to persuade analysts to view his firm less like an investment bank and more like Charles Schwab, which trades at about 20 times earnings, double the multiples of Morgan Stanley and Goldman.

Morgan Stanley expects to realize $150 million in annual savings through the transaction.

Gorman has said he'd be willing to make deals to get Morgan Stanley to the "sweet spot" of having over $1 trillion in assets under management, but hedged on taking on large-scale acquisitions in the asset-management industry.

The Eaton Vance deal is a natural evolution for Morgan Stanley, which has diversified away from investment banking since converting into a bank holding company during the 2008 financial crisis.

The acquisition of Eaton Vance brings about $500 billion in assets to Morgan Stanley, bulking up its asset management arm, which accounts for 10% of the firm's revenue.

The deal is a sign of the times for the financial industry, as firms like Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs move towards less flashy but steadier fee-based businesses.