Morgan Stanley Stock Traders Join in Wall Street’s Windfall (3)

Morgan Stanley’s stock traders joined the rest of Wall Street with a record-breaking first quarter.

The firm took in $5.15 billion from equity trading in the first three months of the year, according to a statement Wednesday. The 25% jump came in ahead of expectations and boosted total trading revenue to $8.51 billion. Morgan Stanley’s closely watched wealth business pulled in $118.4 billion in net new assets, more than expected.

“We get a lot of questions often around good vol and bad vol,” Chief Financial Officer Sharon Yeshaya said in an interview, referring to volatility. “What it did for ...