Morgan Stanley Gets New Tech Team Leader - Veteran Crystal Zhu From JPMorgan

Crystal Zhu, previously head of China telecommunications, media, and technology investment banking at JPMorgan Chase & Co JPM, has transitioned to Morgan Stanley MS as co-head of their Asia Pacific technology team, according to insiders. 

She will remain based in Hong Kong and focus on mergers and acquisitions and initial public offerings in the tech sector.

Having spent about 15 years at JPMorgan, Zhu has served as a managing director since 2019, per her LinkedIn profile, Bloomberg reports.

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Before JPMorgan, she was part of KPMG’s transaction advisory division.

This move follows recent high-level exits at Morgan Stanley, such as Ren Chen, formerly global head of internet investment banking, and Henry Tsai, who headed internet investment banking for the Asia-Pacific region.

Bloomberg data indicates that Morgan Stanley trails JPMorgan in this year’s APAC M&A league, with a 17% drop in deal volume involving regional firms. In contrast, activity in the U.S. and Europe has surged over 40%.

Prior reports indicated Morgan Stanley’s plan to slash 50 investment-banking jobs in Asia-Pacific following declining revenues in the region.

Meanwhile, the bank is also exploring ways to expand its offerings in Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

In April, Morgan Stanley reported fiscal first quarter 2024 revenues of $15.1 billion, beating the analyst consensus estimate of $14.34 billion. EPS stood at $2.02, beating the analyst consensus estimate of $1.68.

Morgan Stanley stock gained 11% in the last 12 months. Investors can gain exposure to the stock via Morgan Stanley ETF Trust Parametric Equity Premium Income ETF PAPI and Morgan Stanley ETF Trust Calvert US Large-Cap Core Responsible Index ETF CVLC.

Price Action: MS shares traded higher by 0.68% at $94.28 on the last check Monday.

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