Morgan Stanley Survey: the Brands Winning Over Wall Street Interns
NEWS | 30 August 2025
lighning bolt icon An icon in the shape of a lightning bolt. lighning bolt icon An icon in the shape of a lightning bolt. Impact Link This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Gen Z has hit corporate America in full force, and one of Wall Street's biggest banks took the pulse of some of its own employees in the young cohort. More than 500 of Morgan Stanley's 2025 North American summer intern class weighed in with their hot takes on things as varied as their favorite water bottle brands, their shoe preferences, and their exercise methods. The results reveal trends among today's young professionals in general, but also give a rare peek into Wall Street intern preferences. There are a few shifts to note. Newer brands such as the sneaker maker Hoka and the womenswear retailer Aritzia have risen in popularity quickly with this group. The survey also confirmed other trends we've been reporting on, such as how luxury brands and loud logos are fading out of fashion — almost 40% of interns felt no loyalty to any one handbag brand. And those Stanley tumblers? So yesterday. The firm's equity research team, whose intel investors and corporations turn to, has tracked Morgan Stanley's summer interns' perspectives over the past seven years as a way to track trends. Most of the respondents — about 70% — were 21 years old or younger, and, the report says, represent the "next generation of innovators, disrupters, and decision-makers who will define the future of industry." "Our 2025 summer intern class stands out as one of the most driven, ambitious, and globally attuned cohorts we've seen," the team's report said. Here are some of the items and brands this year's summer interns love.
Author: Emmalyse Brownstein.
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