The all-stock takeover, at US$58.74 per share, is expected to close in the fourth quarter and will see E*Trade CEO Mike Pizzi join Morgan Stanley. (The Logic)

Talking point: This is the largest deal by a major Wall Street firm since the 2008 financial crisis, and it gives Morgan Stanley a major foothold in money management for the masses. The bank currently has three million clients with US$2.7 trillion in assets. E*Trade has more customers, at over 5.2 million, but significantly less in assets, at US$360 billion. In November 2019, E*Trade’s two main competitors, Charles Schwab and TD Ameritrade, announced a merger. The previous month, Fidelity cut its trading commission fee. Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman had a message for the rivals of his newly acquired firm: “We’ll take on Schwab. We’ll take on Fidelity.”