MORGAN STANLEY

All aspects of our businesses are highly competitive, and we expect them to remain so. We compete in the U.S. and globally for clients, market share and human talent. Operating within the financial services industry on a global basis presents, among other things, technological, risk management, regulatory, infrastructure and other challenges that require effective resource allocation in order for us to remain competitive. Our competitive position depends on a number of factors, including our reputation, client experience, the quality and consistency of our long-term investment performance, innovation, execution, relative pricing and other factors, including entering into new or expanding current businesses as a result of acquisitions and other strategic initiatives. Our ability to sustain or improve our competitive

position also depends substantially on our ability to continue to attract and retain highly qualified employees while managing compensation and other costs. We compete with commercial banks, investment banking firms, brokerage firms, insurance companies, exchanges, electronic trading and clearing platforms, financial data repositories, investment advisers and sponsors of mutual funds, hedge funds, real assets funds and private credit and equity funds, energy companies, financial technology firms and other companies offering financial and ancillary services in the U.S. and globally, including, in certain instances, through the internet. In addition, restrictive laws and regulations applicable to certain global financial services institutions, which have been increasing in complexity and volume, may prohibit us from engaging in certain transactions, impose more stringent capital and liquidity requirements, and increase costs, and can put us at a competitive disadvantage to competitors in certain businesses not subject to these same requirements. See also “Supervision and Regulation” herein and “Risk Factors.”

We compete directly in the U.S. and globally with other securities and financial services firms and broker-dealers and with others on a regional or product basis. Additionally, there is increased competition driven by established firms and asset managers, as well as the emergence of new firms, non-financial companies and business models, including innovative uses of technology, competing for the same clients and assets, or offering similar products and services to retail and institutional customers. We also compete with companies that provide online trading and banking services, investment advisory services, robo-advice capabilities, access to digital asset capabilities and services, and other financial products and services.

Our ability to access capital at competitive rates (which is generally impacted by, among other things, our credit spreads and ratings) and to commit and deploy capital efficiently, particularly in our more capital-intensive businesses, including underwriting and sales, trading, financing and market-making activities, also affects our competitive position. We expect clients to continue to request that we provide loans or lending commitments in connection with certain investment banking activities.

It is possible that competition may become even more intense as we continue to compete with financial or other institutions that may be larger, or better capitalized, or may have a stronger local presence and longer operating history in certain geographies or products. Many of these firms have the ability to offer a wide range of products and services through different platforms that may enhance their competitive position and could result in additional pricing pressure on our businesses.

We continue to experience price competition in some of our businesses. In particular, the ability to execute securities, derivatives and other financial instrument trades electronically on exchanges, swap execution facilities and other automated trading platforms, and the introduction and application of new

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technologies will likely continue the pressure on our revenues. The trend toward direct access to automated, electronic markets will likely continue as additional markets move to more automated trading platforms. We have experienced and will likely continue to experience competitive pressures in these and other areas in the future.

Our ability to compete successfully in the investment management industry is affected by several factors, including our reputation, quality of investment professionals, performance of investment strategies or product offerings relative to peers and appropriate benchmark indices, advertising and sales promotion efforts, fee levels, the effectiveness of and access to distribution channels and investment pipelines, the types of products offered, and regulatory restrictions specific to FHCs. Our investment products, including alternative investment products, may compete with investments offered by other investment managers, including by investment managers who may be subject to less stringent legal and regulatory regimes than us.