Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman Discusses Morgan Stanley Smith Barney Acquisition (MS)

received regulatory approval to acquire the remaining 35 percent interest of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney from Citigroup for $4.7 billion on Friday morning. This gives Morgan Stanley full control of what will now be know as Morgan Stanley Wealth Management. James Gorman, Morgan Stanley chairman and CEO, called CNBC's Squawk Box to discuss the news. "This is something that we've been working on since the ashes of the financial crisis in late 2008, so it's just tremendous for everyone whose worked so hard for the last four and a half years to see this to the finish line," said Gorman. Gorman called the event transformative, but also one that brings greater stability to the institution. Morgan Stanley is taking a longterm, multi-decade view that the individual investor will continue to need the kind of "full-service brokerage services" that they provide, Gorman said. In terms of where Gorman would tell Morgan Stanley Wealth Management clients to put their money, he said that it was good in the longterm to have a balanced portfolio. "This is not a time when fear should take over. This is the last of a series of hurdles that the markets have had to go through as they now work their way back to a more normal environment," said Gorman.