It’s not often the employees which lose out in a competition for a major, public promotion stay on at the company.
Instead, especially in the world of Wall Street, they’re likely to jump ship and try their course somewhere else. Goldman Sachs’s Harvey Schwartz, for example, left the company in 2018 when it became obvious that his co-COO David Solomon would be named CEO.
This was the expectation spectators had as they observed Morgan Stanley’s succession process, after the news that James Gorman would be standing down having taken the reins in 2010.
The crown went to Ted Pick, who heads up Morgan Stanley’s institutional securities unit overseeing investment banking and trading operations.
However it would be wrong to assume that while Pick got the keys to the kingdom his rivals were left out in the cold. Indeed Andy Saperstein and Dan Simkowitz have been named Pick’s deputies, and have been handed an equal share award to sweeten the deal.
In a filing submitted to the SEC on Friday, Morgan Stanley confirmed the packages awarded to Pick, Saperstein and Simkowitz are valued at $20 million each, adding the figure “is approximately the average of the annual variable compensation of the three executives.”
The filing seen by Coins2Day seeks to explain Morgan Stanley’s decision, writing: “The committee determined that granting the awards to each of our incoming chief executive officer and co-presidents is in the best interests of the company and its shareholders as the company transitions from 14 years of exceptional leadership by Mr. Gorman.
“The committee granted the awards in acknowledgment of the board’s assessment of the criticality to the continued success of Morgan Stanley of ensuring that each executive continues their outstanding leadership in their new roles at the company.”
No guarantees
The bonuses to Pick, Saperstein and Simkowitz come with stringent strings attached.
In a landscape of increasing uncertainty—with big banks attempting to get a handle on their own fortunes—Morgan Stanley wants to see the trio put in a strong performance.
The filing reveals each of the awards are predominantly made up of performance stock units—60%—over a performance period of 2024 to 2026. They will convert to shares in 2027.
The other 40% of the award are held in restricted-stock units which will also vest in January 2027.
Morgan Stanley said the scheme is “designed to reinforce the executive’s accountability for the company’s future financial goals… in a balanced manner that does not encourage imprudent risk taking, while incentivizing leadership continuity.”
Difficult landscape
Saperstein, who has taken on the bank’s asset-management business in addition to his role leading wealth management, and Simkowitz—who replaced Pick as leader of the investment-banking and trading division—will be helping their new CEO navigate tough waters.
This year Morgan Stanley has trimmed thousands of jobs from its headcount, and has seen its share price slip by more than 17% so far this year.
Morgan Stanley is not alone in its troubles. Bank of America has also reportedly laid off thousands of employees, while Goldman Sachs has been plagued by a series of high-profile departures that have prompted questions about the bank’s leadership.
Meanwhile Citigroup has also announced a layoff process as part of a wider restructuring program under CEO Jane Fraser, and earlier this year sources said JPMorgan was planning to cut some of its mortgage staff.
In January 2024, Pick will take the helm from Gorman, who surpassed JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon as Wall Street’s top-paid bank CEO in 2020 before seeing his salary axed by 10% to $31.5 million for 2022.