What is Morgan Stanley Predictability Rank?
5 (5)
Warren Buffett said many times that the companies he likes are:
1. Simple businesses that he understands
2. that have predictable and proven earnings and
3. with economic moat
4. those can be bought at a reasonable price.
It is hard to quantify "simple businesses that he (Buffett) understands", so we will focus on the other three characteristics instead. In GuruFocus Research: What worked in the market from 1998-2008? Part I: Introduction of Predictability Rank, we will show that the businesses that have predictable and proven earnings are usually also simple businesses that an average person could understand.
GuruFocus conducted a back test study of Warren Buffett's strategy of "buying good companies at fair prices" for the years from 1998-2008.
Morgan Stanley Predictability Rank Calculation
In our database there are 2403 stocks that have been traded from Jan. 2, 1998 to Aug. 31, 2008. We have the complete 10-year financial data and trading prices of these companies for this period. We rank the predictability of these companies based on the consistency of their revenue per share and EBITDA (earning before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) per share over the past ten fiscal years, and study the correlation between the stock performances and the predictability of the business.
Our study may be subject to these biases and assumptions:
Dividend yields are not counted for investment returns
Effects of price changes due to spin-offs may not be fully adjusted
Study is subjected to survivorship bias due to de-listing, bankruptcy, LBO, M&A, etc.
The correlation between business predictability and investment returns of a company is showed below.
Correlation Between Business Predictability and Investment Returns
| Predictables | Non-Predictable | All stocks |
|---|
| Total Number of stocks | 570 | 1833 | 2403 |
| Total Lost Money | 61 | 830 | 891 |
| Total Lost More Than 50% | 18 | 412 | 430 |
| Total Lost More Than 90% | 4 | 86 | 90 |
| Average Gain | 260.6% | 100.0% | 138.1% |
| Median Gain | 150.0% | 13.0% | 39.0% |
| Maximum Gain | 2852.0% | 11483.0% | 11483.0% |
| Maximum Loss | -100.0% | -100.0% | -100.0% |
| Annualized Average Gain | 12.7% | 6.7% | 8.4% |
| Annualized Median Gain | 8.9% | 1.1% | 3.1% |
For the 570 predictable companies, we have seen strong correlation between the predictability of businesses and the stock performances over the past 10 years, regardless of the valuation of business at 1998. Accordingly, we have ranked the business predictability from 5-star to 1-star, as shown in this table.
| Predictability Rank | 5-Star | 4.5-Star | 4-Star | 3.5-Star | 3-Star | 2.5-Star | 2-Star | 1-Star (non-predictable) | Average among all |
|---|
| % Out of All 2403 Stocks |
3.3% |
2.9% |
3.7% |
3.3% |
3.3% |
3.7% |
3.3% |
76.3% |
100% |
| % that are in Loss (10y) |
3% |
10% |
8% |
9% |
11% |
18% |
16% |
45% |
37% |
| Average Gain (10y) |
364.6% |
330.9% |
278.0% |
235.1% |
243.5% |
227.8% |
154.8% |
100.0% |
138.1% |
| Median Gain (10y) |
238.5% |
193.5% |
171.0% |
159.0% |
132.5% |
113.5% |
87.0% |
13.0% |
39.0% |
| Maximum Gainer |
2228.0% |
2547.0% |
2452.0% |
2852.0% |
2432.0% |
1892.0% |
1807.0% |
11483.0% |
11483.0% |
| Maximum Loser |
-82.0% |
-53.0% |
-67.0% |
-100.0% |
-83.0% |
-100.0% |
-78.0% |
-100.0% |
-100.0% |
| Annualized Average Gain |
15.4% |
14.6% |
13.2% |
12.0% |
12.2% |
11.7% |
9.1% |
6.7% |
8.4% |
| Annualized Median Gain |
12.1% |
10.6% |
9.8% |
9.3% |
8.2% |
7.3% |
6.0% |
1.1% |
3.1% |
For detailed information about each predictability rank, please go to GuruFocus Research: What worked in the market from 1998-2008? Part I: Introduction of Predictability Rank
Also read:
Part II: What worked in the market from 1998-2008? Part II: Role of Valuations
Part III: Intrinsic Value, Discounted Cash Flow and Margin of Safety
Morgan Stanley (Morgan Stanley) Business Description
Traded in Other Exchanges
Address
1585 Broadway, New York, NY, USA, 10036
Morgan Stanley is a global investment bank whose history, through its legacy firms, can be traced back to 1924. The company has institutional securities, wealth management, and investment management segments. The company had over $4 trillion of client assets as well as over 80,000 employees at the end of 2022. Approximately 50% of the company's net revenue is from its institutional securities business, with the remainder coming from wealth and investment management. The company derives about 30% of its total revenue outside the Americas.
Executives
| Andrew M Saperstein |
officer: Head of Wealth Management |
1585 BROADWAY, NEW YORK NY 10036 |
| Raja Akram |
officer: Deputy Chief Financial Officer |
1585 BROADWAY, NEW YORK NY 10036 |
| Edward N Pick |
officer: Head of Inst'l Securities |
1585 BROADWAY, NEW YORK NY 10036 |
| James P Gorman |
other: Business Unit Head |
C/O MORGAN STANLEY, 1585 BROADWAY, NEW YORK NY 10036 |
| Daniel A Simkowitz |
officer: Head of Investment Management |
C/O MORGAN STANLEY, 1585 BROADWAY, NEW YORK NY 10036 |
| Smith Charles Aubrey Iii |
officer: Chief Risk Officer |
1585 BROADWAY, NEW YORK NY 10036 |
| Thomas H Glocer |
director |
2000 GALLOPING HILL ROAD, KENILWORTH NJ 07033 |
| Alistair Darling |
director |
C/O MORGAN STANLEY 1585 BROADWAY, NEW YORK X1 10036 |
| Mandell Crawley |
officer: Chief Human Resources Officer |
1585 BROADWAY, NEW YORK NY 10036 |
| Eric F Grossman |
officer: Chief Legal Officer |
C/O MORGAN STANLEY, 1585 BROADWAY, NEW YORK NY 10036 |
| Masato Miyachi |
director |
C/O MORGAN STANLEY 1585 BROADWAY, NEW YORK NY 10036 |
| Stephen J Luczo |
director |
|
| Keishi Hotsuki |
officer: Interim Chief Risk Officer |
C/O MORGAN STANLEY, 1585 BROADWAY, NEW YORK NY 10036 |
| Jonathan Pruzan |
officer: Chief Financial Officer |
C/O MORGAN STANLEY 1585 BROADWAY, NEW YORK NY 10036 |
| Erika H James |
director |
C/O SVMK INC., ONE CURIOSITY WAY, SAN MATEO CA 94403 |
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