Stop Saying Morgan Stanley Had a "Disappointing" Quarter

Jeffery Harte, an analyst at Sandler O’Neill & Partners LP, commented in a Bloomberg article (below) that, “What stands out to me isn’t so much that Goldman had a blow-out quarter, it’s that Morgan Stanley had a disappointing quarter".

Disappointing? Revenue was down because they reduced risk in difficult markets. That's not "disappointing", it's prudent. While Goldman was able to step risk up and yield phenomenal trading results, it just as easily could have gone the other way. When it comes to prop trading, it's nice to shoot for the stars when that's your only focus. But when you have the government breathing down your neck about risk taking, YOU HAVE ACCEPTED TAX-PAYER MONEY, and the capital markets in which you trade are FAR from normal, reducing VaR not only seems prudent, but should have been a requirement for recipients of TARP funds. If you're going to take risk, don't do it on my dime.

Bloomgberg Article