Morgan Stanley says fourth-quarter shareholder profit surged 60% as rising fees from wealth management offset the weak fixed-income trading results that have marred its competitors earnings.
The results indicate Morgan Stanley's strategy of diversifying its businesses to reduce its reliance on traditional investment banking operations may be paying off.
The second-largest US investment bank said fourth-quarter shareholder profit was $600m, or 41 cents a share. This compares with $376m, or 29 cents, a share in the same quarter in 2009.
The bank's global wealth management joint venture with Citigroup generated income for Morgan Stanley of $166m up from $29m a year earlier.
