Wall Street’s latest guessing game – “What is Going to Happen to Morgan Stanley?” – is near an end. As the financial crisis cut into profitable businesses such as prime brokerage, merger advice and real estate investment units, the bank has been looking for a viable long-term strategy.

The talks with Citigroup over a brokerage joint venture that Morgan Stanley would control give a sense of where John Mack, the chief executive, wants to take his company: closer to wealthy clients.