Morgan Stanley Investment Management
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- Equities
Equity Market Commentary - November 2026
Morgan Stanley Investment Management argues post-midterm seasonality favors a year-end rally led by growth and value stocks, reversing October's defensive rotation, provided Fed rate hikes don't further compress the market's P/E multiple.
- Fixed Income
Floating-Rate Loans – 3Q Market Outlook
Morgan Stanley Investment Management turns modestly more bullish on leveraged loans, citing firm fundamentals, strengthening technical demand and fair spreads, despite renewed Fed rate hikes and an approaching LBO refinancing wall. It argues issuer-level credit selection is essential amid sector-specific spread widening and two-way rate risk.
- Equities
Dividend Investing: Looking Beyond High Yields
Morgan Stanley Investment Management argues rising bond yields and corporate capital-allocation shifts mean equity income investors should look beyond headline dividend yields toward lifecycle diversification and dividend capture. Combining "sustainers," "growers" and "initiators" with cross-market dividend capture can build income without sacrificing capital appreciation potential.
- Private Markets
Growth Equity Investing in Private Markets: How Times Have Changed
Morgan Stanley Investment Management argues companies are staying private longer, shifting growth and value creation into late-stage private markets, with AI-driven firms scaling rapidly before IPO. It says selective, active management is essential given intense competition for top private opportunities.
- Equities
Beyond the Earnings Boom
Morgan Stanley Investment Management argues that 2025's exceptional equity earnings growth, concentrated in energy and AI-related sectors, is undermined by weak free cash flow conversion and already elevated margins. It favours quality compounders, now trading near market valuations despite stronger fundamentals, as a hedge against AI and inflation risks.
- Private Markets
The Impact of Higher Rates on Private Market Assets
Morgan Stanley Investment Management argues investors must weigh both short- and long-term rates when assessing private markets, since floating-rate debt costs and refinancing conditions affect exits and liquidity. It concludes higher rates are not alarming but can create better entry prices for private market investors.
- Thematics
100X AI Cultures: Can AI turn 10x Engineers into 100x Engineers?
Morgan Stanley's Culture Quant argues that companies with the highest "AI Productivity Spread" delivered stronger forward stock returns, suggesting organizational adaptability to AI may be a new, underappreciated source of competitive advantage. The firm contends execution and culture, not AI access itself, will determine which companies capture the resulting economic value.
- Fixed Income
Video: Real Rates Take the Lead
Morgan Stanley Investment Management's Utkarsh Sharma argues that a global bond selloff driven by rising real yields has widened dispersion across credit, securitized and emerging-market debt, creating selective opportunities. He contends quality, carry and active security selection are now essential as policy tightens and volatility rises.
- Macro
September Market Recap
The Fed raised rates 25bp to 3.75%-4.00% and the ECB hiked 25bp to 2.50%, both citing inflation risks, while the Bank of England held at 3.75% amid Middle East-driven energy price concerns. All three central banks said future moves remain data-dependent without a pre-committed path.