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. We also urge you to consult 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 or guarantee return of any principal. The terms of the securities differ from those of ordinary debt securities in that the securities do not pay interest or guarantee the payment of any principal amount at maturity. If the final share price is less than the trigger level (which is 80% of the initial share price), the absolute return feature will no longer be available and the payout at maturity will be an amount in cash that is at least 20% less than the $1,000 stated principal amount of each security, and this decrease will be by an amount proportionate to the full amount of the decline in the closing price of the underlying shares over the term of the securities, without any buffer. There is no minimum payment at maturity on the securities, and, accordingly, you could lose your entire initial investment in the securities.
■The appreciation potential is fixed and limited. Where the final share price is greater than or equal to the initial share price, the appreciation potential of the securities is limited to the upside payment of $131 per security (13.10% of the stated principal amount), even if the final share price is significantly greater than the initial share price.
■The market price of the securities may 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 S&P MidCap 400® 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 exchange rates of the U.S. dollar relative to the currency in which the stocks underlying the share underlying index trade
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.
Generally, the longer the time remaining to maturity, the more the market price of the securities will be affected by the factors described above. Some or all of these factors will influence the price you will receive if you sell your securities prior to maturity. For example, 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 below the initial share price. The price of the underlying shares may be, and has recently been, volatile, and we can give no assurance that the volatility will lessen. See “SPDR® S&P MidCap 400® ETF Overview” below. You may receive less, and possibly significantly less, than the stated principal amount per securities if you try to sell your securities prior to maturity.
■The securities are subject to our credit risk, and any actual or anticipated changes to our credit ratings or credit spreads may adversely affect the market value of the securities. You are dependent on our ability to pay all amounts due on the securities at maturity and therefore you are subject to our credit risk. If we default on our obligations under the securities, your investment would be at risk and you could lose some or all of your investment. As a result, the market value of the securities prior to maturity will be affected by changes in the market’s view of our creditworthiness. Any actual or anticipated decline in our credit ratings or increase in the credit spreads charged by the market for taking our credit risk is likely to adversely affect the market value of the securities.
■As a finance subsidiary, MSFL has no independent operations and will have no independent assets. As a finance subsidiary, MSFL has no independent operations beyond the issuance and administration of its securities and will have no independent assets available for distributions to holders of MSFL securities if they make claims in respect of such securities in a bankruptcy, resolution or similar proceeding. Accordingly, any recoveries by such holders will be limited to