Morgan Stanley became a publicly traded company in 1986.
The firm went public by selling shares to outside investors, ending its long period as a privately held investment-banking partnership. The move gave Morgan Stanley additional capital to support the rapid expansion of its trading and underwriting businesses during the 1980s.
Morgan Stanley was founded in 1935 after the Glass–Steagall Act separated commercial and investment banking activities. It was established by Henry S. Morgan and Harold Stanley, following the dissolution of J.P. Morgan’s securities business. For decades, the firm operated as a partnership owned largely by its senior professionals.
Going public was part of a wider transformation on Wall Street. Other major securities firms also began listing shares as capital-intensive trading operations grew. Morgan Stanley later merged with Dean Witter in 1997, creating a much broader financial-services company; that merger is separate from the 1986 public offering.