Risk Factors
This section describes the material risks relating to the securities. For further discussion of these and other risks, you should read the section entitled “Risk Factors” in the accompanying product supplement for Jump Securities, index supplement and prospectus. You should also consult with your investment, legal, tax, accounting and other advisers in connection with your investment in the securities.
Risks Relating to an Investment in the Securities
■The securities do not pay interest and provide for the minimum payment at maturity of only 10% of your principal. The terms of the securities differ from those of ordinary debt securities in that the securities do not pay interest and provide for the minimum return of only 10% of the principal amount at maturity. If the final share price is less than the downside threshold level, the payout at maturity will be an amount in cash that is less than the $1,000 stated principal amount of each security, reflecting the negative performance of the underlying shares over the term of the securities beyond the buffer amount of 10%. You could lose up to 90% of the stated principal amount of the securities.
■The appreciation potential is fixed and limited. Where the final share price is greater than or equal to the downside threshold level, the appreciation potential of the securities is limited to the upside payment of at least $163.90 per security (16.39% of the stated principal amount), even if the final share price is significantly greater than the initial share price. The actual upside payment will be set on the pricing date. See “Hypothetical Payment on the Securities at Maturity” on page 5 above.
■You will not benefit from the upside payment if the final share price is below the downside threshold level. If the final share price is less than the downside threshold level, the payment at maturity will depend solely on the closing price of the underlying shares on the valuation date, and, accordingly, you will lose the benefit of the limited protection against the loss of principal based on the upside payment. Instead, under these circumstances, you will be exposed on a 1-to-1 basis to the decline in the closing price of the underlying shares beyond the buffer amount of 10%, and you will lose some or a significant portion of your investment.
■The market price will be influenced by many unpredictable factors. Several factors, many of which are beyond our control, will influence the value of the securities in the secondary market and the price at which MS & Co. may be willing to purchase or sell the securities in the secondary market, including:
othe trading price, volatility (frequency and magnitude of changes in value) and dividends of the underlying shares and of the stocks composing the Nasdaq-100 Index® (the “share underlying index”),
ointerest and yield rates in the market,
ogeopolitical conditions and economic, financial, political, regulatory or judicial events that affect the underlying shares or the securities markets generally and which may affect the final share price of the underlying shares,
othe time remaining until the securities mature,
othe occurrence of certain events affecting the underlying shares that may or may not require an adjustment to the adjustment factor, and
oany actual or anticipated changes in our credit ratings or credit spreads.
Some or all of these factors will influence the price you will receive if you sell your securities prior to maturity. In particular, you may have to sell your securities at a substantial discount from the stated principal amount if at the time of sale the value of the underlying shares is near, at or below the downside threshold level.
You cannot predict the future performance of the underlying shares based on their historical performance. If the final share price is less than 90% of the initial share price, you will be exposed on a 1-to-1 basis to such decline in the final share price beyond the buffer amount. There can be no assurance that the final share price will be greater than or equal to 90% of the initial share price so that you will receive at maturity an amount that is greater