Morgan Stanley, under fire to boost profit margins in its retail brokerage arm, is considering closing offices, laying off staff and requiring some branch managers also to generate revenue as advisers under a cost-cutting drive, according to reports. Morgan Stanley, which controls the Morgan Stanley Smith Barney venture owned jointly with Citigroup, last week reduced the number of regions to 12 from 16, eliminating four manager jobs. Only about eight months earlier the firm had consolidated its regional manager ranks from 19. Recruiters, citing conversations with advisers and managers at the firm, say additional cost-cutting measures are expected to be announced in the coming weeks, Reuters reported. Among the changes under discussion, they said, is a 10pc cut in the venture's 120 branch "complexes", which are groups of branch offices in a city or region that share compliance and administrative staff.

Morgan Stanley spokeswoman Christine Jockle declined to comment. .....Read more HERE