Morgan Stanley Australia Graduate Programs & Internships

What it does: They offer services in wealth management, investment banking and capital markets, sales and trading, and research

Mission: To provide first-class service while helping our clients achieve their financial goals

Size and presence: They have 600 people working in Australia and 110 financial advisers located in five major cities in Australia

Best known for: A global leader in mergers and acquisitions, IPO underwriting, investment management, and wealth management

The good bits: Great flexibility, and a good brand to work for

The not-so-good bits: Large workload

The Story of Morgan Stanley Australia

Morgan Stanley was established on September 16, 1935, as a partnership with a staff of only 13. It became a public company in 1986 and founded Morgan Stanley and Co. International Plc, a financial services company operating in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Americas and Asia. For the next few decades, the firm opened offices in many cities worldwide, including Melbourne and Sydney. 

Morgan Stanley has consistently delivered first-class business and is now a global financial services firm operating in more than 40 countries with over 80,000 employees. It commenced operations in Australia more than 50 years ago, and over the next six decades, it has been involved in significant corporate and financial market transactions.

The company provides advice and deals across the services in Corporate Finance and Advisory, Sales and Trading, and Investment Management. It has a substantial presence in the Australian retail financial services sector and its business has grown across five offices in Australia. 

Culture & vibe

What makes Morgan Stanley different is the company culture and the global community of people who work there. Their culture is open and inclusive. Their workforce reflects a variety of talents, backgrounds, experiences and perspectives. Relevant work experience is not a prerequisite to applying to any of their programs since they believe that diversity makes them stronger.

To offer a good service to customers, they provide their employees with training and development programs that have an outstanding reputation. The programs have been specifically designed to provide the necessary toolkit to get new hires off to a good start, regardless of their academic discipline. They also have work-life programs to respond to the diverse needs of their employees, ranging from working parent and family concerns to physical and emotional health, and the need for increased flexibility.

Recruitment process

Students from any discipline with an interest in the financial industry can apply to their Sydney and Melbourne offices offering internship opportunities. The campus recruitment events usually take place at universities or virtually across Australia from February to July. For a list of key dates, you can check with your career services centre or student-run organisations.

You can also apply online through their career website, just like the full-time roles. However, the application deadlines are different for internship and full-time positions, which vary by region.

Some of their divisions conduct testing before the first-round interviews, and others may include language proficiency analysis. The first-round interviews can be organised by phone, via video conferencing, or in person, and will consist of competency, technical, and motivational questions.

The final-round interviews will be in person at their offices or virtually, and these could be a series of technical interviews, group exercises, or one-on-one talks, depending on the division. Your discussion will be based on what the job requires and your unique experience. It could be technical or based on competency, strengths or skills.

Career prospects

The scope of the company's services, products, and global presence empowers its employees to experience career mobility based on their talents and interests. Their talent management initiatives and programs provide learning opportunities to improve employees’ knowledge and skills. They help employees manage their career paths and aspirations, including having a career stint abroad.

They also provide opportunities for ongoing professional training and development in the form of a wide range of on-site and online classes on subjects such as management leadership, financial product skills, personal effectiveness and technology. 

Benefits

Depending on location and your eligibility, the following benefits may be offered:

• Career development: tuition and licensing reimbursement, online courses from industry leaders, 10,000+ LinkedIn Learning educational videos on business and career-related topics, and employee networking groups that promote diversity and career development. 
• Health and Well-being: medical, vision, dental and prescription drug coverage; health savings accounts; free membership to care practice; expert medical second opinions; confidential sessions with a mental health therapist or coach; support for serious and/or chronic medical conditions; onsite health centres, counsellors, physical therapists, and fitness centres (for select locations); subsidised memberships at gyms and studios; virtual fitness classes and wellness apps and programming
• Finance: employee stock purchase program; retirement savings; a variety of ways to save money, invest and protect employees’ assets at Morgan Stanley; financial wellness resources; affordable access to legal services; salary continuation; insurance plans
• Family: paid leave to care for a seriously ill family member, paid parental leave, lactation rooms, breast-milk shipping, dependent day care flexible spending accounts, family building benefits, subsidised backup care for children and adults, free college admissions support program, elder care planning services, resources and counselling for children
• Perks: deals in a range of consumer products and services

Social Contributions

Morgan Stanley Australia gives back to the communities in several ways, including:

• Global Volunteer Month: in June and July, employees around the world volunteer their time for worthy causes and projects.
• Workplace giving program: allows employees to make monthly donations 
• Volunteer Incentive Program: allocates grants to non-profit organisations where employees serve as volunteers or board members
• Core Charity Partner: since 2019, Morgan Stanley Australia has partnered with The Smith Family to help disadvantaged children get the most out of their education   

Sources

The following sources were used in researching this page

• morganstanley.com.au
• glassdoor.com