Smith Barney Shearson

Morgan Stanley Wealth Management
Company type	Subsidiary
Industry	Financial services
Founded	January 13, 2009; 17 years ago
Headquarters	New York City, United States
Area served	Global
Products	Wealth management, asset management, retail brokerage
Parent	Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley Wealth Management is a global financial services firm based in the United States, concentrating on retail brokerage. It functions as the wealth and asset management branch of Morgan Stanley.

On January 13, 2009, Morgan Stanley and Citigroup revealed that Citigroup would divest 51% of Smith Barney to Morgan Stanley, establishing Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, which was previously part of Citi Global Wealth Management. This combined brokerage network includes 17,646 financial advisors overseeing $2 trillion in client assets. Their clientele encompasses individual investors, small to mid-sized enterprises, large corporations, nonprofit organizations, and family foundations.

On September 25, 2012, Morgan Stanley rebranded its U.S. wealth management operations as "Morgan Stanley Wealth Management". However, the broker-dealer entity continues to operate under the name "Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC".

History

Smith Barney & Co. originated in 1938 through the merger of Charles D. Barney & Co. and Edward B. Smith & Co.. Charles D. Barney & Co., established in 1873, and Edward B. Smith & Co., founded in 1892, gained prominence in securities underwriting after integrating professionals from the Guaranty Trust Company following the enactment of the Glass Steagall Act.

In 1975, Smith Barney merged with Harris, Upham & Co., resulting in Smith Barney, Harris Upham & Co., which was renamed Smith Barney Inc. by 1982. Throughout the 1980s, the firm became well-known for television advertisements featuring John Houseman delivering the slogan "They make money the old-fashioned way. They earn it."

During the late 1980s, Sanford I. Weill's Primerica Corporation owned Smith Barney. In 1988, Commercial Credit purchased Primerica for $1.5 billion. Subsequently, in 1992, they acquired a 27% interest in Travelers Insurance and bought Shearson (including the legacy E.F. Hutton) from American Express in 1993. By the end of that year, these entities had consolidated into Travelers Group Inc., though brokerage services continued under the Smith Barney name.

Weill reacquired Shearson from American Express for $1 billion in 1993 and integrated it into Smith Barney. Joe Plumeri was appointed president but departed within a year due to disagreements with existing leadership.

In September 1997, Travelers purchased Salomon Inc., parent company of Salomon Brothers Inc., for over $9 billion in stock and merged it with its investment division to form Salomon Smith Barney. In April 1998, Travelers Group announced a $76 billion merger with Citicorp to create Citigroup, then recognized as the largest financial services corporation worldwide.

At the time of the September 11, 2001 attacks, Smith Barney occupied 64% of 7 World Trade Center, spanning floors 28 through 45 as its largest tenant.

Sale to Morgan Stanley

Amidst the 2008 financial crisis, Citigroup encountered substantial losses linked to its retained exposure to collateralized debt obligations and required assistance via a government bailout. To bolster capital reserves, Citigroup chose to divest or shutter "non-core" operations. On January 13, 2009, Morgan Stanley and Citigroup announced a partnership merging Smith Barney with Morgan Stanley's Global Wealth Management Group. Morgan Stanley invested $2.7 billion upfront to acquire a 51% stake, forming Morgan Stanley Smith Barney.

Though Morgan Stanley also faced financial pressures, it benefited from a $9 billion capital infusion by Mitsubishi_UFJ_Financial_Group in 2008, which secured a 21% ownership interest.

The joint venture officially commenced operations on June 1, 2009, uniting Morgan Stanley’s wealth management division (including assets formerly under Dean Witter) with Citi’s Smith Barney brokerage network. This new entity produced roughly $14 billion in net revenue, employed approximately 18,500 financial advisors across about 1,000 global offices, and served nearly 6.8 million client households.

By September 17, 2009, Citigroup disclosed intentions to sell its remaining shares in the joint venture to Morgan Stanley, thereby consolidating full ownership.

Acquisition history

Below is an overview highlighting the key mergers, acquisitions, and former entities associated with the company (this list is not comprehensive):

External links