Morgan Stanley Buys E*Trade in $13B Deal

Cryptocurrency

Investment bank Morgan Stanley is buying digital stock brokerage E*Trade for $13 billion.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the consolidation will give Morgan Stanley an inroad with E*Trade’s 5.2 million retail investors in what will be Wall Street’s largest deal since the 2008 financial crisis. The bank is targeting this market, though Morgan Stanley’s current $2.7 trillion in assets under management dwarfs E*Trade’s mere $360 billion.

Despite lagging in assets, E*Trade’s client base is far larger than Morgan Stanley’s three million. But it’s also a different share of the investments landscape; while Morgan Stanley mostly appeals to high-dollar and institutional investors, E*Trade’s zero commission structure brings in more consumer-level, retail accounts.

It may also bring the wealth management giant closer to cryptocurrency markets. E*Trade reportedly toyed with launching a bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH) trading platform in April 2019. That service could now get wrapped into Morgan Stanley’s, though there’s no word yet on what that would look like.

This all-stock deal will grant E*Trade shareholders 1.0432 Morgan Stanley shares for each of theirs. It still needs shareholder approval.

Morgan Stanley’s move comes months after Charles Schwab acquired TD Ameritrade, which had its own interests in the crypto space, including investments in ErisX, a crypto derivatives platform.

Disclosure Read More

The leader in blockchain news, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups.

Products You May Like

Articles You May Like

Farmville co-creator-led company raises $33M to create Web3 games
Bitcoin fails to recoup post-Fed losses as $20K BTC price returns to radar
Bitcoin futures open interest jumps by $1B: Manipulation or hedge?
How to buy Bitcoin with Venmo
Phishing victim sends eye-watering $4.5M in USDT to scammer

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *