Dow Jones writes "Under Fleming, Morgan Stanley Asset Management shows gains", which says, "Getting MSIM firing on all cylinders is a key priority for Morgan Stanley, which along with other banks is grappling with higher capital ratios from new financial regulations. Asset management is appealing because it uses less capital than other businesses, though Morgan Stanley still trails some of its biggest rivals there by measures including assets under management and profit margin.... So far, efforts to revamp the business have focused on shuffling management in areas such as global liquidity, which includes Morgan Stanley's proprietary money market funds, and boosting distribution capabilities with the firm's Morgan Stanley Smith Barney brokerage joint venture, another unit led by Fleming. The asset management business also jettisoned its retail mutual fund business, selling Van Kampen Investments to Invesco last June. By some measures, those changes are having an impact. Morgan Stanley's assets under management among money market fund managers rose by $2.7bn, or 5.6%, over the past year as of February 28, while many competitors lost market share, according to Crane Data. To be sure, Morgan Stanley ranks just 17th on the data provider's list of money market family rankings by assets. Any growth in the category also isn't leading to a big windfall for banks. Low interest rates have forced firms to waive fees there so clients' returns don't turn negative."
