Morgan Stanley FAA Program (NYC)

I recently applied for the FAA program at Morgan Stanley in one of their NYC offices. The process is as such. First apply, take general reasoning test, do the 'day in the life at MS' virtual exercise, 15 phone screening, conduct Hirevue digital interview, and then complete the business plan template for how you will acquire clients. That's where I am now, and I'm expecting a phone call for next steps in the process (probably in-person interview).

Has anyone gone through this process before and know what to expect? How selective are they? How important is the business plan? has anyone done the FAA program? Something a little more insightful than "It's really tough, hopefully you have a reach uncle." would be helpful to me and would appreciate any feedback. I'm graduating in May from a non target school in NJ and had internships with Merrill Lynch and Oppenheimer in WM, and did an 8th month program with Goldman Sachs.

I have no doubt WM is what I want to do, but I'm interested to know what other people know or think about Morgan Stanley's FAA program. Thanks

3 Comments
 

Hi Jake-Buck, don't worry, the WSO Monkey Bot is here.... I'm hoping one of these links will help find your answer:

If we're lucky, maybe I can guilt some users to help you out: @kjdmrb23" Option Monkey @neil91"

If those topics were completely useless, don't blame me, blame my programmers...

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.
 
Best Response

The business plan part is mainly used to see if you have any clue on how to build a client base. They are looking for you to have a target market and then actionable ideas on how you will go about connecting with these prospective clients.

The in person interview will simply screen out potential applicants that don't have an aptitude for sales. Without this you won't last long in wealth management.

Difficulty and selectivness can vary from office to office. In big offices in major metro areas (New York, Los Angeles, etc.), they will extremely selective because they have a huge applicant pool. That said you can differentiate yourself during this process by having a well crafted, specific business plan that outlines your niche market with a well throughout plan on how you will market yourself.

Hope this helps, good luck!

 

Voluptates repudiandae ut et unde facere quo dolores. Nihil porro voluptatem suscipit vitae et consequuntur iusto est.

Aspernatur reprehenderit et saepe amet qui ipsum repellendus. Omnis placeat et est. Saepe quaerat illum ducimus repellat voluptate a. Sit ut quis dolorum in facilis ut ratione. Ut omnis consequuntur aut cum sed ipsum odit.

Nisi aut sit sed et consequuntur dolores. Consectetur est vel aut est iste. Nihil recusandae numquam et ipsam necessitatibus totam amet.

Fuga alias omnis rerum qui id. Quo consectetur rerum architecto harum et animi ipsam. Assumenda blanditiis harum repellendus laboriosam. Voluptate aut quia sint facilis odit possimus incidunt.

Career Advancement Opportunities

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Guggenheim Partners 02 97.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 99.0%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.9%
  • BMO Capital Markets 13 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • JPMorgan No 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (57) $264
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (29) $183
  • Intern/Summer Associate (16) $161
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (76) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”