Morgan Stanley Consolidates Retail Brokerage Operations In US - Reports

Tom Burroughes

9 April 2014

The retail brokerage arm of Morgan Stanley has cut part of its management structure, reducing the number of divisions to two from three and the number of regions to eight from 12, the Wall Street Journal and other media reported, citing an internal memo.

The cuts have been the first major change to how the US-listed firm manages its affairs since the middle of 2012, when the bank reduced its number of regions and cut its number of branch complexes.

The consolidation suggests how such businesses are facing relentless competitive pressure in the US wealth management landscape, an issue given additional bite by new regulations and the ability of clients to handle more and more financial transactions over mobile technology devices and other platforms.

The WSJ said a spokesperson for Morgan Stanley confirmed the contents of the memo, which was sent to the firm's nearly 16,800 advisors yesterday. The new managerial structure will become effective at the end of May.

As part of the change, the retail-brokerage firm now will have two division directors, Bill McMahon as Western division director and Rick Skae as Eastern division director. Division directors report directly to Shelley O'Connor, who was recently appointed head of field management.

Doug Kentfield, who most recently served as a third divisional director, is leaving the firm to pursue other opportunities, according to the memo. Kentfield was a legacy Smith Barney manager, joining Citigroup in 1993, the publication said, citing regulatory files.

Regional directors Michael Struckman in the Northwest, Curt Peterson in the Southwest, Ron Thacker in the Southern Central region and Craig Norton in the Southeast will report to McMahon, according to the new managerial structure.

Regional directors Steve Austin in the Midwest, Lisa Cregan in the Mid-Atlantic, Ralph Balzano in the New York Metro region and Rick Ryan in New England will report to Skae, the memo said.

The four regional directors whose positions were eliminated are Jeff Adams, John Campbell, Kevin Forman and Matthew Maloney. They "will explore new leadership roles within wealth management", according to the memo.