Morgan Stanley Aim: Top Three in Key Lines

Morgan Stanley Chief Executive James Gorman, who took over from John Mack in January, said he is unhappy with results for last year, when the company reported its first per-share annual loss.

In a letter to shareholders Monday, Gorman said, "Our goal, as we move forward, is to rank in the top three in the key businesses in which we operate."

Morgan Stanley, the sixth-biggest U.S. bank by assets, trailed rivals including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. in trading revenue last year. Gorman's New York firm has hired more than 350 employees as part of a "revitalization" of its sales and trading business, he said in the letter.

Gorman said "headwinds" related to the firm's tightening debt spreads are "largely behind us."

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