For instance, Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) revealed that first-quarter revenue this year was mirroring fourth quarter of last year’s – typically a much weaker quarter for bank trading revenue than he first quarter. By the end of last year, sentiment on trading plunged to a point where Morgan Stanley was forced to lay off 25% of its debt traders and salespeople in December.
Morgan Stanley makes up 8.1% of IAI’s underlying portfolio and 2.6% of KCE.
Credit Suisse Group AG analysts projected that the five largest Wall Street banks could report trading revenue of $19.1 billion for the first quarter, or 16% lower year-over-year. UBS Group AG analysts also believe this first quarter could be the worst in trading revenue for at least seven years. Citigroup Chief Financial Officer John Gerspach said revenue from equities and fixed-income trading likely declined 15% in the first quarter.
iShares US Broker-Dealers ETF