Morgan Stanley (MS) risk factors, FY2024 10-K

Morgan Stanley's FY2024 10-K, filed Feb 21, 2025, lists 23 risk factors in 7 groups. There is no earlier 10-K to compare against, so the most company-specific risks are listed below.

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Risk factors listed
237 groups
Section length
11k wordsItem 1A

Morgan Stanley's biggest risks in the FY2024 10-K

  • Market, credit and liquidity exposures dominate, including client defaults, concentrated positions, funding access and interest-rate sensitivity.
  • Regulation and operational resilience are prominent, covering capital constraints, resolution planning, litigation, systems and third parties.
  • The section also highlights climate-related impacts, technology-driven competition, talent retention and risks from strategic transactions.

The risks most specific to Morgan Stanley

  • Credit Risk

    We are exposed to the risk that third parties that are indebted to us will not perform their obligations

    Institutional Securities lending, derivatives and clearing activities expose Morgan Stanley to losses if clients or counterparties fail to meet obligations.

  • Credit Risk

    A default by a large financial institution could adversely affect financial markets

    Financial institutions’ interconnected credit, trading and clearing relationships—and concentrated reliance on clearinghouses—could transmit another firm’s failure to Morgan Stanley.

  • Operational Risk

    We are subject to operational risks, including a failure, breach or other disruption of our operations or security systems or those of our third parties (or third parties thereof), as well as human error or malfeasance, which could adversely affect our businesses or reputation

    Transaction-processing, security or reporting failures at Morgan Stanley or its third parties could disrupt operations, expose data or damage its reputation.

  • Liquidity Risk

    Liquidity is essential to our businesses and we rely on external sources to finance a significant portion of our operations

    Morgan Stanley depends on debt markets, secured lending and deposits, and faces liquidity pressure from funding disruptions or client cash and collateral outflows.

  • Legal, Regulatory and Compliance Risk

    The application of regulatory requirements and strategies in the U.S. or other jurisdictions to facilitate the orderly resolution of large financial institutions may pose a greater risk of loss for our security holders and subject us to other restrictions

    Resolution requirements could restrict the firm and increase losses for security holders if Morgan Stanley faces material financial distress or failure.

  • Legal, Regulatory and Compliance Risk

    We may be prevented from paying dividends or taking other capital actions because of regulatory constraints or revised regulatory capital requirements

    Federal Reserve capital, stress-testing and capital-planning requirements could constrain dividends or other capital actions.

  • Legal, Regulatory and Compliance Risk

    We may be responsible for representations and warranties associated with commercial and residential real estate loans and may incur losses in excess of our reserves

    Representations and warranties on originated, securitized or traded commercial and residential real estate products could require losses beyond reserves.

  • Legal, Regulatory and Compliance Risk

    Climate change manifesting as physical or transition risks could result in increased costs and risks and adversely affect our operations, businesses and clients

    Climate-related physical events and longer-term shifts, as well as transition risks, could raise costs and affect Morgan Stanley’s operations and clients.

  • Legal, Regulatory and Compliance Risk

    Automated trading markets and the introduction and application of new technologies may adversely affect our business and may increase competition

    Electronic trading platforms and technologies, including generative AI, may intensify price competition and adversely affect Morgan Stanley’s businesses.

  • Acquisition, Divestiture and Joint Venture Risk

    We may be unable to fully capture the expected value from acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures, partnerships, minority stakes or strategic alliances, and certain acquisitions may subject our business to new or increased risk

    Acquisitions, divestitures and partnerships—including the MUFG relationship—may create integration or separation challenges and prevent Morgan Stanley from realizing expected value.

All 23 risk factors

Headings as the filing states them, in filing order.

Market Risk

  1. 01Our results of operations may be materially affected by market fluctuations and by global financial market and economic conditions and other factors
  2. 02Significant changes to interest rates could adversely affect our results of operations
  3. 03Holding large and concentrated positions may expose us to losses

Credit Risk

  1. 04We are exposed to the risk that third parties that are indebted to us will not perform their obligations
  2. 05A default by a large financial institution could adversely affect financial markets

Operational Risk

  1. 06We are subject to operational risks, including a failure, breach or other disruption of our operations or security systems or those of our third parties (or third parties thereof), as well as human error or malfeasance, which could adversely affect our businesses or reputation

Liquidity Risk

  1. 07Liquidity is essential to our businesses and we rely on external sources to finance a significant portion of our operations
  2. 08Our borrowing costs and access to the debt capital markets depend on our credit ratings
  3. 09We are a holding company and depend on payments from our subsidiaries
  4. 10Our ability to raise funding in the long-term or short-term debt capital markets or the equity markets, or to access secured lending markets, has in the past been, and could in the future be, adversely affected by conditions in the U.S. and international markets and economies

Legal, Regulatory and Compliance Risk

  1. 11The financial services industry is subject to extensive regulation, and changes in regulation will impact our business
  2. 12The application of regulatory requirements and strategies in the U.S. or other jurisdictions to facilitate the orderly resolution of large financial institutions may pose a greater risk of loss for our security holders and subject us to other restrictions
  3. 13We may be prevented from paying dividends or taking other capital actions because of regulatory constraints or revised regulatory capital requirements
  4. 14The financial services industry faces substantial litigation and is subject to extensive regulatory and law enforcement investigations, and we may face damage to our reputation and legal liability
  5. 15We may be responsible for representations and warranties associated with commercial and residential real estate loans and may incur losses in excess of our reserves
  6. 16A failure to address conflicts of interest appropriately could adversely affect our businesses and reputation
  7. 17Our risk management strategies, models and processes may not be fully effective in mitigating our risk exposures in all market environments or against all types of risk, which could result in unexpected losses
  8. 18Climate change manifesting as physical or transition risks could result in increased costs and risks and adversely affect our operations, businesses and clients
  9. 19We face strong competition from financial services firms and others, which could lead to pricing pressures that could materially adversely affect our revenues and profitability
  10. 20Automated trading markets and the introduction and application of new technologies may adversely affect our business and may increase competition
  11. 21Our ability to retain and attract qualified employees is critical to the success of our business and the failure to do so may materially adversely affect our performance

International Risk

  1. 22We are subject to numerous political, economic, legal, tax, operational, franchise and other risks as a result of our international operations that could adversely impact our businesses in many ways

Acquisition, Divestiture and Joint Venture Risk

  1. 23We may be unable to fully capture the expected value from acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures, partnerships, minority stakes or strategic alliances, and certain acquisitions may subject our business to new or increased risk

Other Morgan Stanley 10-Ks

  • FY2025 10-K risk factors
    24 risks2 new1 dropped3 reworded

    Operational risk language now expressly covers security failures, human error and third-party disruptions, though the supplied underlying passage is unchanged.

    Filed Feb 19, 2026

About this page

The headings are the filing's own. The one-line readings and the overview are automated and can be wrong: read Item 1A of the 10-K for the exact wording.