Morgan Stanley exited part of Archegos holdings before most rivals

The bank's sale of $5 billion of shares owned by Archegos on March 25, the day before the deluge of block trades by other firms, helped Morgan Stanley emerge largely unscathed from the fund's flameout.

Morgan Stanley sold $5 billion of shares owned by Archegos Capital Management a day before a deluge of block trades sent shockwaves across capital markets.

The sale of the basket of shares on March 25 was completed at a fixed discount, according to a person with knowledge of the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing private transactions.

The Wall Street bank sold shares held by Bill Hwang’s family office in about 10 companies after the market close, mainly to hedge funds, the person said. CNBC reported earlier Tuesday on the size of the stock sale.

Morgan Stanley’s early exit helped the firm emerge largely unscathed from a fund flameout that’s inflicted billions in losses at other banks. Credit Suisse Group on Tuesday announced a $4.7 billion writedown tied to its exposure to Archegos, and Nomura Holdings Inc. has said it could take a hit of as much as $2 billion.

Morgan Stanley was one of the early backers of the family office despite the legal taint tied to Hwang. He was accused of insider trading by authorities and in 2012 pleaded guilty to wire fraud on behalf of his hedge fund, Tiger Asia Management.

A spokesman for Morgan Stanley declined to comment.