Morgan Stanley is reportedly giving the three contenders floated as outgoing boss James Gorman’s successor special bonuses worth a whopping $20 million each — including Ted Pick, who was officially named the next in line for CEO last week.
The share-based awards were announced in Securities and Exchange Commission filing on Friday — one day after the Wall Street giant named 54-year-old Pick the next Morgan Stanley CEO, ending months of speculation about who would fill Gorman’s shoes ahead of his retirement in May 2024.
Andy Saperstein, who heads the company’s wealth management and global marketing divisions and head of investment management Dan Simkowitz were also in the running for the top job, though they didn’t leave the bank after they missed out on the role — a rare move for Wall Street.
Instead, Saperstein gained oversight of the firm’s asset-management business, in addition to his role as co-president, and Simkowitz — or “Simko” as he’s known as by his colleagues — replaced Pick as co-president alongside Saperstein.
The board’s succession committee “determined that granting the awards to each of our incoming chief executive officer and co-presidents is in the best interests of the company and its shareholders as the company transitions from 14 years of exceptional leadership by Mr. Gorman,” the filing said.
The bank added in the filing that the $20 million each for Pick, Saperstein and Simkowitz “is approximately the average of the annual variable compensation of the three executives,” and consists of 60% performance stock units, with a performance period of 2024 to 2026 that will convert to shares in 2027.
The performance stock units only pay out in full if the company achieves specific financial goals, though those targets weren’t immediately clear.
Each of the executives also received a 40% restricted-stock units that vest and become shares in January 2027.
“The committee granted the awards in acknowledgment of the board’s assessment of the criticality to the continued success of Morgan Stanley of ensuring that each executive continues their outstanding leadership in their new roles,” the filing said.
As of early trading hours on Monday, Morgan Stanley’s share price was up nearly 1%, to $70.22.
Representatives for Morgan Stanley did not immediately respond to noti.group’s request for comment.
The hefty bonus will be added to Pick, Saperstein and Simkowitz’s already-sizeable salaries.
Pick in 2022 reportedly took home a total of $28.2 million, according to Salary.com, which included $1 million in base pay, a bonus of over $8.6 million and more than $18.4 million in stock awards.
Pick, who will assume the role as CEO come January 2024, will likely make substantially more next year. For reference Gorman earned $31.5 million in 2022 — a 10% pay cut from the previous year Morgan Stanley’s board said at the time was because of “a challenging economic and market environment.”
Saperstein’s compensation totaled $22.7 million last year, per Salary.com estimates, including $1 million in base pay, a $7.6 million bonus and more than $14 million in stock awards.
Also in 2022, the salary data site said Simkowitz earned $20.5 million, including $1 million in base pay, a bonus of nearly $7 million and more than $12.7 million in stock awards.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
