If you're looking for a Morgan Stanley intern, you might try a 20-something in On sneakers eating a burrito bowl.
Morgan Stanley's equity research team surveyed more than 500 of the firm's North American summer interns on everything from their preferred coffee brand to where they work out. The annual survey, conducted in June and published in early August, helps the research team track trends.
Most of the respondents were 21 or younger at the time of the survey, and the report's authors said they represent "a cohort that is more driven, ambitious, and engaged with the world than ever before."
Here are the daily habits and preferences that define some of the next generation of Wall Street leaders.
Sneakers
Nike remained interns' top sneaker choice, but it continued to lose dominance among interns — 28% of this year's respondents said it's their go-to shoe, compared to 36% last year and 58% in 2021. The brand is trying to stage a comeback after losing ground to competitors, yet its stock continues to fall and was down around 36% since the beginning of the year, as of market close on Friday.
On, a Swiss brand, rose to second place at 13%, up from 8% last year, and Hoka came in third.
Apparel
Zara is still interns' favored apparel brand (22%), with Uniqlo close behind (21%) in its first year in the survey. Lululemon took the third-place spot, but fell from 22% last year to 19% this year as the brand continues to struggle to win back American consumers.
Ralph Lauren made "notable upward strides" and was the preferred choice for 18% of interns. After a slowdown, luxury brands are staging strategic turnarounds, as younger consumers use them to telegraph status and identity, according to McKinsey. Compared to older customers, more Gen Zers and millennials said exclusivity was behind their increased luxury spend.
Handbags
Luxury brands were also on the rise when it comes to handbags, reclaiming the top spot among female interns (20%) after sliding last year (15%). Among the luxury choices, Chanel and Dior came out on top.
Coach and Longchamp secured second and third place, respectively. Some 34% of respondents said they didn't have a preference for a particular handbag, compared to 38% last year.
Exercise
More than half of the interns said they prefer working out at an indoor gym, and 24% said they'd rather exercise outside. True to form as the health-obsessed generation, only 3% of interns said they didn't have a preferred form of exercise.
Wall Street firms have capitalized on the wellness boom, with many boasting in-office gyms. Outside the office, high-end gyms like Life Time and Equinox are themselves status symbols and networking hubs, albeit sweaty ones.
Food and drinks
Guacamole is, it seems, forever.
Chipotle was by far interns' favorite restaurant chain (57%), followed by Chick-fil-A and Cava, at 43% and 32% respectively. Independent coffee shops narrowly beat out Starbucks as interns' beverage spot of choice, at 49% compared to 46%.
Cars
Mercedes remained the interns' favorite car brand, while Tesla stayed low on the list. More than 40% of the respondents said they'd opt for a hybrid vehicle, and only 16% said they'd go for something entirely electric.
When it comes to being driven, 31% of interns said Uber is their favored robotaxi, and 29% said they prefer Waymo, up from 23% last year.
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Alice Tecotzky is a reporter on the Finance desk, based in New York City. She writes about JPMorgan and what it's like to work on Wall Street. Have a tip? Email her at [email protected], reach her on Signal at alicetecotzky.05, or follow her on X @atecotzky.Alice graduated from Columbia University in May 2024 with a degree in English. Before she joined Business Insider, she covered breaking news at the Daily Beast and education at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
