Morgan Stanley (MS) reported Q4 profits which beat market expectations, outperforming rivals as its focus on advising wealthy clients payed-off, sending its shares higher.
The Wall Street investment bank also benefited from a boom in global dealmaking and keeping expenses in check at a time when its peers had been hampered with rising wages and technology costs.
Full-year profit, as well as revenue, was a record for the bank, which advised on some of the world's biggest mergers during the year.
Net income surged 37% to $15 billion and revenue jumped 23% to nearly $60 billion.