Sharon Yeshaya
Chief Financial Officer at Morgan Stanley
Thank you and good morning. In the first quarter, the firm produced revenues of $15.1 billion. Our EPS was $2.02 and our ROTCE was 19.7%. Our model is working as intended. The first quarter results demonstrate the strength of our scaled business and an improving backdrop. Benefits of durable revenues, particularly asset management fees in the wealth management business, stronger capital markets and a continued focus on managing the full income statement all contributed to results.
The firm's first quarter efficiency ratio was 71%, illustrating the inherent operating leverage in the model, and our ongoing efforts to consolidate our expense base following multiple years of integration. Efforts are evidenced by the year-over-year reduction in professional services and marketing and business development spend. Lower legal expenses further supported the improvement in efficiency ratio.
Now to the businesses. Institutional securities revenues of $7 billion were up 3% versus the prior year, reflecting strong performance across businesses. First quarter revenues underscore the power of the integrated firm as our cross divisional collaboration positioned us to capitalize on market opportunities. The geographical breadth continues to distinguish our franchise, and puts us at the center of client activity as the backdrop improves across regions.
Investment banking revenues were $1.4 billion for the first quarter, up 16% from the prior year, pickup in both equity and fixed income underwriting supported results, offsetting the year-over-year decline in advisory. Leading indicators continued to progress positively, including the preliminary reemergence of sponsor activity. Advisory revenues of $461 million reflected a decline in completed M&A transactions. Equity underwriting revenues of $430 million more than doubled versus the prior year as IPO markets reopened for most of the quarter alongside conducive markets for follow-ons. Our global reach supported our ability to lead cross border transactions, and we regained our premier leadership position in equity underwriting league tables, as global market volumes ticked up.
Fixed income underwriting increased year-over-year to $556 million. Results were driven by strength in investment grade and non-investment grade bond issuance, as clients took advantage of tighter credit spreads. Looking ahead, we expect the steady build of this business to continue. We are encouraged by the health of the advisory and underwriting pipelines. While the uncertainty of the rate path and geopolitical developments may impact the near-term conversion of pipeline to realize, conditions should improve over time and the underlying trends suggest that confidence is increasing. We remain focused on expanding our reach through opportunistic hires, particularly as we continue to see diverse pipeline and increased sponsor activity.
Turning to equity. We continue to be a global leader in this business. Revenues were strong, increasing 4% from the prior year to $2.8 billion. Results were supported by performance in derivatives and cash, and the franchise benefited from the scale of our prime brokerage business.
Cash revenues increased year over year, reflecting broad based strength in equity markets across the region. Performance in Japan was particularly strong, supported by higher volumes. Our increased coverage, augmented by our longstanding and unique partnership with MUFG should be supportive over time. Derivative revenues were robust as the business navigated the market environment well, and client activity was strong. Prime brokerage revenues were solid as client balances increased back towards all-time highs on higher market levels. Results reflect the mix of client balances and narrower spreads.
Fixed income revenues were $2.5 billion, results declined slightly compared to the strong result last year. Recall last year's results benefited from increased client engagement on the back of idiosyncratic events, including those related to the U.S. regional banks. Client demand for corporate solutions acted as a partial offset, reflecting the strength of our integrated franchise. Macro and micro revenues declined modestly year-over-year, on lower volatility and client activity which resulted in less transactional flow. Results in commodities increased year-over-year, supported by higher revenues in the North America power and gas business.
Turning to wealth management, the business delivered strong results across all key metrics, demonstrating the continued power and differentiation of the engine we have built. Record revenues increased from the prior year to $6.9 billion, driven by record asset management fees from both a rising market and ongoing success in migrating clients to advisory relationships to better serve their needs. Transactional revenues excluding DCP were also strong as retail sentiment improved alongside institutional investors. Importantly, net interest income remained in line sequentially.
Pretax profit was $1.8 billion and the PBT margin was 26.3%. Together, DCP and the FDIC special assessment impacted the margin by approximately 115 basis points. The results highlight the inherent operating leverage embedded in the business, particularly as revenues rise on the back of cumulative strong fee-based flows as clients invest more in higher beta assets and transactional activity rebounds.
Net new assets for the quarter were strong at $95 billion with contributions from multiple channels including our family office offering. Over time, our ability to deliver unique solutions to clients should continue to attract assets and lead to share capture. Fee based flows of $26 billion were strong. Within fee-based flows this quarter, we saw particular strength from the migration of assets from the advisor led brokerage accounts to fee-based accounts. This demonstrates that over time, assets migrate through the funnel into recurring revenue generating accounts. Fee based assets now stand at over $2 trillion.
Asset management revenues were $3.8 billion, up 13% year-over-year, primarily reflecting higher market levels and the cumulative impact of strong fee-based flows. Transactional revenues were $1 billion and excluding the impact of DCP were up 9% versus prior year. The first quarter's results were driven by client engagement across products, including record activity in structured products. Investments in our platform allow us to support increased client demand.
Bank lending balances were $147 billion, up slightly quarter over quarter, reflecting modest growth in mortgages. Total deposits of $347 billion were roughly flat quarter over quarter as the decline in sweep balances was offset by continued demand for our savings offering. While sweep balances were down on a spot-to-spot basis, average sweeps were roughly in line with last quarter, broadly consistent with our modeled expectations. Net interest income was $1.9 billion, flat to the fourth quarter's results, consistent with our guidance. The moderate increase in average deposit costs was offset by several factors, including the reinvestments of assets at higher market rates.
Looking ahead to the second quarter, the deposit mix will continue to be the primary driver of NII. Assuming the current forward curve and that our assumptions around client behavior materialize, we would expect NII in the second quarter to again be roughly in line with the first quarter.
Our strategy is working. We have a clear path to $10 trillion in client assets across wealth management and investment management. We remain focused on supporting clients on their path to advice, deepening existing client relationships, and using our scaled platform to achieve sustainable 30% pretax profits over time. Investment management reported revenues of $1.4 billion, increasing 7% versus the prior year. Results reflect higher asset management revenues, which increased 8% year-over-year, driven by growth in average AUM on higher market levels. Total AUM increased to $1.5 trillion. Long-term net flows were strong at $7.6 billion. Inflows were driven by strengths in alternatives and solutions and reflect the benefits of our diversified product offering.
Within alternatives and solutions, demand for parametric customized portfolios was robust as retail clients, including our own wealth management clients, allocated investments to parametric's equity-based products, underscoring the value of the integrated model. Flows were further supported by global interest in our active fixed income strategies.
Liquidity and overlay services had outflows of $12.9 billion. Performance based income and other revenues were $31 million. Gains in U.S. private equity and private credit offset lowered accrued carried interest in Asia private equity and real estate, demonstrating the benefits of a global diversified platform. We are seeing the benefits of ongoing investments in this business. We remain focused on customization, private credit and our global distribution. Parametric in particular has allowed us to deliver the integrated firm evidenced by the ongoing demand from our wealth management client base.
Turning to the balance sheet, total spot assets were $1.2 trillion. Our standardized CET1 ratio was 15.1%, down 14 basis points from the prior quarter. Standardized RWAs increased quarter over quarter as we actively supported our clients in more constructive markets. We continue to deliver our commitment to return capital to our shareholders, buying back $1 billion of common stock during the quarter. Our tax rate was 21% for the quarter. The vast majority of share-based award conversion takes place in the first quarter, resulting in a lower tax rate. We continue to expect our 2024 tax rate to be approximately 23%, which similar to prior years will exhibit some quarter-to-quarter volatility.
The first quarter is clear evidence that as the backdrop improves, our franchise is strategically positioned to capture upside, as it was designed to do. With client assets at a record of $7 trillion across wealth and investment management, we are on strong footing. Our wealth management business continues to focus on growth as well as supporting our clients with advice in delivering our differentiated offering and our institutional franchise is supported by our scale and our global footprint. This combined with the build of the investment banking pipelines and market confidence provides us with momentum to deliver on our objectives over time. With that, we will now open the line up to questions.