Morgan Stanley Assessment & Interview Preparation
Recorded Interview, Superday & Five Core Values
Guide country context: United States · Finance / Banking
Hiring processes can vary by country, role, business unit, and year.
Securing a position at Morgan Stanley requires impeccable technical skills and deep alignment with the firm's Five Core Values. The process features an asynchronous recorded video interview, rigorous technical assessments for engineering roles, and an exhaustive multi-round Superday with senior staff.
Hiring Process
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1Online Application officialSubmit application through Morgan Stanley careers portal→ Ensure flawless academic credentials and polished resume with quantified achievements
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2Aptitude / Online Assessment commonly reportedFor certain roles, a brief online aptitude test measuring numerical and logical reasoning→ Practice numerical reasoning and logical patterns
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3Recorded Video Interview officialAsynchronous video interview with 3-6 behavioral and commercial awareness questions. 30 seconds prep, up to 2 minutes per answer. AI-driven platform tracks delivery and pacing.→ Practice speaking clearly to camera under strict time pressure
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4Technical Assessment (Engineering) officialFor technology roles: an online coding assessment testing algorithmic efficiency→ Drill LeetCode-style problems (arrays, graphs, DP)
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5First-Round Interview commonly reportedPhone or video screening with team members→ Prepare technical knowledge and STAR stories mapped to Five Core Values
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6Superday official3-5 back-to-back panel interviews with senior staff. Intensive technical finance grilling (valuation, modeling) combined with behavioral 'Fit' questions.→ Prepare for exhaustive interview marathon with deep technical and market knowledge
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7Offer officialDecision communicated after Superday review→ Respond within stated timeline
Assessments
Asynchronous video interview with 3-6 behavioral and commercial awareness questions. Candidates receive 30 seconds of preparation time and up to 2 minutes to record each answer. The AI-driven platform tracks delivery and pacing alongside content quality.
Measures: Communication clarity, commercial awareness, composure under pressure, cultural alignment with Five Core Values
- Practice speaking clearly to a camera without a live audience
- Maintain eye contact with the lens, not the screen
- Structure answers using STAR method within the 2-minute window
- Show commercial awareness and current market knowledge
Common mistakes
- Breaking eye contact with the camera
- Rambling without structure due to time pressure
- Not demonstrating market awareness
- Appearing stiff or over-rehearsed
- Not practicing with the actual time constraints beforehand
For technology and engineering roles. Rigorous coding assessment testing algorithmic efficiency, data structures, and problem-solving under time constraints. Expect medium-to-hard algorithmic difficulty.
Measures: Data structures proficiency, algorithm design, code quality, efficiency under time pressure
- Focus on arrays, graphs, dynamic programming, and string manipulation
- Practice under strict time constraints
- Write clean, well-structured code with good naming conventions
- Always analyze and state time/space complexity
Common mistakes
- Not handling edge cases
- Spending too long on one problem
- Writing correct but inefficient solutions
- Not testing code before submission
Interviews
Morgan Stanley's Superday is exhaustive, featuring intensive technical finance grilling (valuation, financial modeling, market awareness) combined with deep behavioral questioning. Candidates must demonstrate resume fluency, commercial awareness, and alignment with the Five Core Values.
Format: 3-5 back-to-back interviews, each 30-45 minutes, with senior staff
What interviewers look for
- Deep technical mastery (finance: valuation, modeling; tech: coding, systems)
- Resume fluency — ability to discuss every detail of your CV
- Commercial awareness and market opinions
- Alignment with Five Core Values
- Sustained energy and composure across all rounds
Focus areas to practise
- Walk me through a DCF
- Pitch me a stock
- Why Morgan Stanley specifically?
- Tell me about a time you put clients first
- What's happening in markets today and why?
- Be completely fluent in every item on your resume
- Have strong, current market views ready to articulate
- Map behavioral stories directly to the Five Core Values
- Maintain energy across all rounds — treat each as fresh
Behavioral questioning evaluates deep alignment with Morgan Stanley's Five Core Values. Candidates must seamlessly integrate these values into their responses while demonstrating genuine commercial awareness.
Format: Interwoven with technical rounds during Superday
What interviewers look for
- Do the Right Thing — ethical decision-making
- Put Clients First — client-centric thinking
- Lead with Exceptional Ideas — innovation and thought leadership
- Commit to Diversity and Inclusion — inclusive behavior
- Give Back — community and team contribution
Focus areas to practise
- A time you did the right thing despite pressure
- How you put a client's interests ahead of your own
- An innovative idea you championed
- How you promoted inclusion in a team
- How you contributed beyond your core responsibilities
- Prepare STAR stories mapped to each of the Five Core Values
- Show genuine ethical reasoning in your examples
- Demonstrate client-first thinking (internal or external clients)
- Include examples of contributing to community or team development
How this differs by role
The process is not the same for every role. Find the closest match to the job you applied for — the assessments and interviews below are the ones reported for that role family.
Investment Banking / Finance
Assessments
- Recorded video interview
- Aptitude assessment (role-dependent)
Interviews
- Technical finance interviews (valuation, accounting, DCF)
- Market awareness questions
- Behavioral interviews mapped to Five Core Values
- Superday (3-5 rounds)
Technology / Engineering
Assessments
- Online coding assessment
Interviews
- Technical coding interviews
- System design (senior)
- Behavioral interviews
- Superday (3-5 rounds)
Wealth Management / Markets
Assessments
- Recorded video interview
Interviews
- Commercial awareness and markets knowledge
- Client relationship scenarios
- Behavioral interviews
- Superday (3-4 rounds)
Analyst / Associate Programs
Assessments
- Recorded video interview
- Aptitude test (program-dependent)
Interviews
- Technical and behavioral combined
- Markets/finance awareness
- Superday with diverse interview panel
Values & Framework
Morgan Stanley evaluates all candidates against its Five Core Values, documented in the firm's official Code of Conduct. These values define the culture and behavioral expectations across all divisions and levels.
- Show ethical decision-making even when it's difficult or costly
- Demonstrate client-centric thinking in all interactions
- Present innovative ideas and thought leadership examples
- Show inclusive behavior and respect for diverse perspectives
- Include examples of giving back to team, community, or profession
Recommended Practice Modules
Preparation Plans
- Memorize and internalize the Five Core Values (Do the Right Thing, Put Clients First, etc.)
- Practice 2-3 recorded answers (30s prep, 2min recording)
- Review current market news and prepare one stock/trade pitch if finance-track
- If tech: solve 3-4 LeetCode Medium problems
- Complete 5+ practice recordings with strict time constraints
- Prepare 4 STAR stories, one per Core Value plus one general leadership story
- If finance: practice valuation concepts and financial statement analysis
- If tech: complete 10+ coding problems (arrays, graphs, DP)
- Build current market awareness — read financial news daily
- Research Morgan Stanley's recent deals and strategic focus
- Daily recorded-answer practice with self-review of recordings
- Prepare 5+ STAR stories covering all Five Core Values comprehensively
- If finance: master DCF, comparable companies, and financial modeling basics
- If tech: daily coding practice (15+ problems), focus on efficiency
- Build deep market awareness across relevant asset classes
- Practice 'Why Morgan Stanley?' and 'Why this division?' answers
- Study Morgan Stanley's recent quarterly results and strategic direction
- Conduct mock Superday simulations with back-to-back practice
- Systematic recorded-answer mastery with diverse question types and self-review
- Deep preparation for Superday format — practice multi-hour interview marathons
- If finance: comprehensive valuation, modeling, and markets knowledge
- If tech: complete 30+ coding problems at Medium-Hard difficulty
- Build comprehensive STAR story bank (8+ stories) mapped to all Five Core Values
- Study Morgan Stanley's market position, competitive landscape, and recent deals
- Practice maintaining energy and composure across 4-5 consecutive interviews
- Develop strong, defensible market opinions
- Conduct multiple full mock Superdays with feedback
- Refine weakest areas and practice under realistic pressure
Frequently Asked Questions
Sources & verification status
3 sources · 2 from the employer or another primary publisher · 1 reported rather than confirmed
See each source and how far it goes
- Employer site Morgan Stanley - Code of Conduct & Five Core Values Primary source, published by the employer
- Employer site Morgan Stanley - Interview Preparation Primary source, published by the employer
- Third party Morgan Stanley analyst interview guide (third-party) Could not be checked — being replaced — Third-party commercial interview guide. Cannot confirm the employer's current format.
Confidence is calculated from each source, not assigned to the page. A source that cannot be opened, or that does not describe what we cited it for, cannot support a claim here regardless of how it was previously labelled.
How this guide was put together
Published by Job Tests Portal. It is compiled from the public sources listed above and has not been independently reviewed by a recruitment or assessment specialist. We are not affiliated with Morgan Stanley and this guide is not endorsed by them.
We label where each statement comes from, and we would rather say “we could not verify this” than state something we cannot show you the source for. Hiring processes change often and vary by role, country and year, so treat everything here as a starting point and let your invitation be the final word.