Reply #9: Morgan Stanley to can 1,000 brokers

[UpInArms]

http://www.newsday.com/business/ny-bzmorg4362029jul29,0,7345657.story?coll=ny-business-headlines

Following a shakeup in its top management, Morgan Stanley has announced plans to try to boost profits by cutting about 1,000 brokers who sell securities to individuals.

The cuts aren't targeted at any specific geographic area. Instead, the giant Manhattan-based securities firm, which had 10,438 so-called "retail" brokers in the United States as of the end of the second quarter, will review all of those brokers. About 10 percent "who are not up to our standards" in terms of performance will be let go, according to a memo sent to employees yesterday by Zoe Cruz, Morgan Stanley's acting president.

Currently, there are about 400 Morgan Stanley retail brokers in the New York City-Long Island area, according to a spokeswoman for the firm.

As it shrinks its current sales force, Morgan Stanley also will reduce its training program for new brokers from 2,400 people this year to about 1,000 in 2006, Cruz wrote. At the same time, it will recruit "proven, experienced brokers who are focused on serving high-net-worth individuals," which Cruz described as "the most profitable segment of the business."

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