Morgan Stanley says it cares how you reason through a scenario, not whether you land the perfect answer

Prep sites and candidate reports consistently describe a numerical reasoning test early in Morgan Stanley's EMEA process, built on charts and tables, and some report verbal and pattern questions too. Our reasoning test covers that mix and gives you a timed baseline.

Morgan Stanley does not publish the test, its provider or a pass mark on the pages we found, so the content is reported, not stated. The firm's own guidance is about interviews, which no reasoning test rehearses, and spring technology candidates describe a situational judgement test we do not cover.

On its interview preparation page, Morgan Stanley says it does not always expect a perfect answer and is more interested in how you reason through a scenario. That one line changes how to prepare. Memorising model answers is less valuable than practising thinking out loud: stating an assumption, testing it, and adjusting when new information arrives.

Try it with any short business question, such as whether a coffee chain should open a new branch. Say what you would want to know, make a rough estimate, and explain what would change your mind. If you can do that calmly for two minutes, you are rehearsing the skill the firm says it values.

The firm lists competency-based, strengths-based, skills-based and technical interviews. Competency questions ask for evidence from your past. Strengths questions ask what energises you and what you do well without effort. Skills questions test a capability directly. Technical questions check knowledge of markets, products or code depending on the role.

Prepare a different asset for each. For competencies, a set of stories. For strengths, honest reflection on what you enjoy. For skills, timed practice. For technical rounds, the basics of the division you applied to, such as how a bond price moves with rates. You may only meet two of these styles, but you will not know which in advance.

• Competency: past evidence, told as short stories
• Strengths: what you enjoy and do naturally well
• Skills: a live task or calculation
• Technical: division knowledge, from markets to code

Prep sites describe Morgan Stanley's EMEA online test as multiple-choice numerical reasoning built on graphs, charts and tables, and several say it applies across most EMEA schemes. One candidate on a summer sales and trading process recalls verbal, numerical and pattern recognition sections. A 2026 prep guide names SHL as the provider, but the firm does not.

Since the content is reported rather than stated, prepare broadly. Get quick at percentage change, ratios and reading the right row of a table, and do at least one timed sitting so the pace is familiar. Our SHL tests explainer describes the common SHL formats, and the free reasoning test below gives you a baseline in about the time a short screen takes.

Morgan Stanley has published tips for video interviews and notes that more roles now use the tool in screening, naming North America and Asia. It points out that recorded sessions give you limited time to show what you know, which is why preparation matters. UK candidates on review sites also describe a short HireVue round before speaking to anyone live.

Treat the recording as a rehearsal of your reasoning, not a recital. Open with your answer, give one piece of evidence, and stop. Our video interview guide compares recorded interviews across banks and has a short practice routine.

Morgan Stanley's note on recruitment scams says its employees will not contact candidates from a non-Morgan Stanley email address or phone number, and that it does not offer interviews, internships, jobs, application coaching or interview training through third parties. Anyone charging a fee for an interview slot is not acting for the firm.

That does not make independent practice pointless. It means paid products are preparation, not access. Our practice test is free, uses original questions, and is a way to warm up rather than a route into the firm.

These come from anonymous reviews, university careers pages and prep guides. They often disagree, and Morgan Stanley has not confirmed them. Read them as leads, not rules.

• Prep sites describe the EMEA online test as numerical reasoning with graphs, charts and tables, used across most schemes.
• One candidate on a summer sales and trading process reports verbal, numerical and pattern recognition sections in the online test.
• Candidate reviews describe an online test, a HireVue of about five questions, a telephone interview with a banker or trader, and an assessment centre.
• A spring technology candidate reports a situational judgement test and a deductive reasoning test, then a group activity and interview at the assessment centre.
• A 2026 prep guide names SHL aptitude tests as the gating stage for summer analyst places, which Morgan Stanley itself does not confirm.
• A careers site notes that London investment banking assessment centres are held in London, though the firm does not publish the format.