Morgan Stanley (MS): Here’s What You Might’ve Missed

6. Decreased trading revenue
For the first quarter of 2013, Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) reported a 25% decrease in trading revenue. While technically a bank-holding company now, Morgan is still a investment bank at heart, so this does need to be addressed.

7. An increased return-on-equity
For the first quarter, Morgan reported a return on equity, or ROE, of 7.5%. This is an unenviable number, but is up from the previous quarter’s 5.8%. ROE tells you how much profit a company generates with shareholder money.

Morgan has a long way to go on this. JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) has an ROE of 11.55% trailing 12 months. Wells has an ROE of 13.07 TTM. ROE is undoubtedly something on James Gorman’s mind, as this is a key metric for analysts and investors, and the bank is showing progress.

Foolish bottom line
Like many of its peers, Morgan Stanley is trying to repair damage suffered in the financial crisis, and the work is slow. But Morgan is no small player and is in no danger of going anywhere anytime soon. It may not have the dash and panache of Goldman Sachs, but it will almost inevitably turn itself around and become a serious contender once again.

And once it does that, it will almost undoubtedly become an investment worth considering seriously again. As such, it’s a bank you should keep your eye on.

The article 7 Things You Need to Know About Morgan Stanley originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor John Grgurich owns shares of Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase. Follow John’s dispatches from waist-deep, muddy trenches of capitalism on Twitter @TMFGrgurich. The Motley Fool recommends Wells Fargo. The Motley Fool owns shares of Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo.

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