Morgan Stanley advisers hit revenue record in fourth quarter

Morgan Stanley's 15,763 advisers hit an all-time best in productivity during the fourth quarter of 2016, generating average annualized revenue — fees and commissions — per adviser of more than $1 million. The firm's wealth management unit over the three months ended in December produced net revenue of almost $4 billion and pre-tax income of $891 million, according to a release by the company. For the year, wealth management at Morgan Stanley reported pre-tax income from continuing operations of $3.4 billion compared with $3.3 billion a year earlier. Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley's CEO James Gorman said on a conference call with analysts Tuesday morning that the firm's wealth management unit had signed new alliances with 10 digital businesses last year as the firm further enhances digital offerings for advisers and clients. Last week, Morgan Stanley announced one of those new relationships, saying that software from data-aggregation company Addepar Inc. is now used by the bank's largest private-wealth teams. (More: Bank of America's Merrill Lynch reports a 1% increase in number of financial advisers)