hedging-related costs that are included in the original issue price and borne by you and because the secondary market prices will reflect our secondary market credit spreads and the bid-offer spread that any dealer would charge in a secondary market transaction of this type as well as other factors.
The inclusion of the costs of issuing, selling, structuring and hedging the notes in the original issue price and the lower rate we are willing to pay as issuer make the economic terms of the notes less favorable to you than they otherwise would be.
However, because the costs associated with issuing, selling, structuring and hedging the notes are not fully deducted upon issuance, for a period of up to 6 months following the issue date, to the extent that MS & Co. may buy or sell the notes in the secondary market, absent changes in market conditions, including those related to the underlying index, and to our secondary market credit spreads, it would do so based on values higher than the estimated value, and we expect that those higher values will also be reflected in your brokerage account statements.
￭The estimated value of the notes is determined by reference to our pricing and valuation models, which may differ from those of other dealers and is not a maximum or minimum secondary market price. These pricing and valuation models are proprietary and rely in part on subjective views of certain market inputs and certain assumptions about future events, which may prove to be incorrect. As a result, because there is no market-standard way to value these types of securities, our models may yield a higher estimated value of the notes than those generated by others, including other dealers in the market, if they attempted to value the notes. In addition, the estimated value on the pricing date does not represent a minimum or maximum price at which dealers, including MS & Co., would be willing to purchase your notes in the secondary market (if any exists) at any time. The value of your notes at any time after the date of this document will vary based on many factors that cannot be predicted with accuracy, including our creditworthiness and changes in market conditions. See also “The market price of the notes will be influenced by many unpredictable factors” above.
￭Investing in the notes is not equivalent to investing in the underlying index. Investing in the notes is not equivalent to investing in the underlying index, the futures contract or the component stocks of the reference index. As an investor in the notes, you will not have voting rights or rights to receive dividends or other distributions or any other rights with respect to the component stocks of the reference index. Further, by purchasing the notes, you are taking credit risk to us and not to any counter-party to the futures contract linked to the underlying index. Your return on the notes will not reflect the return you would realize if you purchased any stocks or futures contracts that are tracked directly or indirectly by the underlying index. See “Hypothetical Payout on the Notes” above.
￭The notes will not be listed on any securities exchange and secondary trading may be limited. The notes will not be listed on any securities exchange. Therefore, there may be little or no secondary market for the notes. MS & Co. may, but is not obligated to, make a market in the notes and, if it once chooses to make a market, may cease doing so at any time. When it does make a market, it will generally do so for transactions of routine secondary market size at prices based on its estimate of the current value of the notes, taking into account its bid/offer spread, our credit spreads, market volatility, the notional size of the proposed sale, the cost of unwinding any related hedging positions, the time remaining to maturity and the likelihood that it will be able to resell the notes. Even if there is a secondary market, it may not provide enough liquidity to allow you to trade or sell the notes easily. Since other broker-dealers may not participate significantly in the secondary market for the notes, the price at which you may be able to trade your notes is likely to depend on the price, if any, at which MS & Co. is willing to transact. If, at any time, MS & Co. were to cease making a market in the notes, it is likely that there would be no secondary market for the notes. Accordingly, you should be willing to hold your notes to maturity.
￭The calculation agent, which is a subsidiary of Morgan Stanley and an affiliate of MSFL, will make determinations with respect to the notes. As calculation agent, MS & Co. will determine the initial index value and the final index value, and will calculate the amount of cash you will receive at maturity. Moreover, certain determinations made by MS & Co., in its capacity as calculation agent, may require it to exercise discretion and make subjective judgments, such as with respect to the occurrence or non-occurrence of market disruption events and the selection of a successor index or calculation of the index closing value in the event of a discontinuance of the underlying index. These potentially subjective determinations may adversely affect the payout to you at maturity. For further information regarding these types of determinations, see “Description of Equity-Linked Notes—Supplemental Redemption Amount,” “—Calculation Agent and Calculations,” “—Alternate Exchange Calculation in the Case of an Event of Default” and “—Discontinuance of Any Underlying Index; Alteration of Method of Calculation” in the accompanying product supplement for equity-linked notes. In addition, MS & Co. has determined the estimated value of the notes on the pricing date.
￭Hedging and trading activity by our affiliates could potentially adversely affect the value of the notes. One or more of our affiliates and/or third-party dealers expect to carry out hedging activities related to the notes (and to other instruments linked to the underlying index, the futures contract or the component stocks of the reference index), including trading in the futures contract and the stocks that constitute the reference index as well as in other instruments related to the underlying index. As a result, these entities may be unwinding or adjusting hedge positions during the term of the notes, and the hedging strategy may involve greater and more frequent dynamic adjustments to the hedge as the determination date approaches. Some of our affiliates also