Morgan Stanley European Wealth Management Exec Leaves Company (NYSE: MS)

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS)’s wealth management operations head in Europe, Middle East and Africa, Alexander Clasen, has left the company after four years of service.

The New York-based bank has not named a replacement for Clasen, said spokesperson Jim Wiggins, who confirmed the departure of Classen to Bloomberg news. Classen first joined Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) in 2006 from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) at the same time when CEO James Gorman joined the company to turn around the brokerage.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) paid $2.75 billion in 2009 to take control over its Smith Barney Brokerage, which was a joint venture with Citigroup, Inc (NYSE: C). Smith Barney has about 18,000 financial advisors, making it the world’s largest brokerage.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) Smith Barney looks to expand outside the U.S. because it believes that emerging markets will see faster growth rates, said unit president Charles Johnston in April. The firm had foreign assets of $2.4 billion during the second quarter, compared to $7.9 billion in the U.S.

“We don’t have a large enough footprint in those markets,” Johnston said in April. “We’d like it to be bigger, and there’s only two ways to do that — you can buy something or you can grow organically. There hasn’t been much that’s been available to buy. We’ve talked about some deals, but we’re going on the path of organic growth.”

Morgan Stanley is a financial holding company. Through its subsidiaries and affiliates, the Company operates as a global financial services company that provides its products and services to a diversified group of clients and customers, including corporations, governments, financial institutions and individuals. It operates through three business segments: Institutional Securities, Global Wealth Management Group and Asset Management. In May 2010, Invesco Ltd. acquired the Company’s retail asset management business. During the year ended December 31, 2009, it disposed its former real estate subsidiary, Crescent Real Estate Equities Limited Partnership. On May 31, 2009, the Company and Citigroup Inc. (Citi) consummated the combination of the Company’s Global Wealth Management Group and the businesses of Citi’s Smith Barney in the United States, Quilter in the United Kingdom and Smith Barney Australia. The combined businesses operate as Morgan Stanley Smith Barney Holdings LLC.

Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) traded up 2.0% hitting $27.53 during mid-day trading on Monday.