Morgan Stanley Profits Drop 9% as Investment Banking Slows, But Wealth Management Gains

Morgan Stanley's third-quarter profits dropped 9% from a year ago as revenue from investment banking and trading fell.

The firm's investment banking revenues fell 27% from a year ago, placing it last among big banks with Wall Street operations.

One bright spot was that its wealth and investment management units posted higher year-over-year profits.

CEO James Gorman said the firm is "seeing increasing evidence of M&A and underwriting calendars that are building."

The CFO said "despite the weaker quarterly results, we continue to see broad sector diversification of our completed deals."