Under the helm of a new CEO, Morgan Stanley is reportedly looking to cut some payroll in its wealth business – an important driver of overall results.

Morgan Stanley intends to cut several hundred jobs in its wealth management division, coming as new CEO Ted Pick aims to control costs, the Wall Street Journal reported on February 14.

The firm declined to comment to Family Wealth Report when asked about the matter.

The cuts, which include a small number of managing directors as well as non-customer-facing employees, are expected to hit less than 1 per cent of the wealth unit’s employees, which number less than 40,000 in total, the WSJ said. Affected employees are expected to be notified as soon as this week, the report said, citing unnamed sources.

As reported here, Pick became the new CEO at the start of January, taking over from long-serving predecessor James Gorman. In November 2023, the firm named Jed Finn as the head of its wealth-management business. Finn has worked closely with co-president Andy Saperstein since Finn joined Morgan Stanley in 2011

The wealth arm of Morgan Stanley is a significant revenue earner. Last year, it wrapped up its integration of brokerage firm E*Trade, which it had bought in 2020. Morgan Stanley competes against the likes of Bank of America’s Merrill business and UBS, among others.

The US firm reported fourth-quarter 2023 full-year results here.