While corporate access—the business of connecting investors to corporate executives by the sell-side—navigated unprecedented demand during the Covid-19 pandemic, it has reached new highs in 2025.

“By early October, we had already surpassed our prior seat record set in 2020—remarkable given that year’s surge in virtual participation,” according to Daniel Gaviria, global head of Corporate Access for Morgan Stanley. “The appetite for connectivity continues to grow, underscoring investors’ desire for direct engagement and insight.”

2025 was marked by strong demand for access across all formats, confirmed Charlie Wardell, head of US Investor Access Strategy; US Specialist Sales and New York Franchise Sales, at J.P. Morgan

“More than ever, investors have valued meetings with corporate teams to understand the impact of significant new macro catalysts on corporate strategy—and to learn from each other’s perspective,” he said. “We expect that interest in U.S. corporate access will grow again in 2026. We will continue to grow by encouraging the collaboration of US equity research, U.S. specialist sales and other colleagues across the firm.”

And the demand for these top firm’s services has once again been recognized by Extel’s 2025 Corporate Access survey results, based on the opinions of both buy-side and corporate voters.

There is little change from last year’s overall leaderboard: J.P. Morgan is once again followed by Morgan Stanley in second place.  Jefferies was up once place to take third and UBS and BofA Securities were fourth and fifth respectively.

This was the second year that both buy-side and corporate were asked to name their top 4 conferences over the past year with Morgan Stanley’s Technology, Media & Telecom Conference Global Technology Conference in San Francisco earning first place. Robert W. Baird & Co’s Global Industrial Conference in Chicago was recognized as the third best on the top 10 leaderboard. 

“We work hard to make sure that our calendar includes new formats and events,” said J.P. Morgan’s Wardell, whose firm’s well-entrenched Healthcare Conference in San Francisco was awarded fifth place. “This year we have added formats built to allow investors and corporate clients to discuss sector trends thematically, in addition to formats which highlight individual company results.”

Well-curated conferences have been an important part of J.P. Morgan’s calendar this year, he added. In addition to large format conferences, the firm has seen strong demand for smaller format opportunities for corporate teams and investors to interact with less structure.

Morgan Stanley reported finding a balance between large and smaller events is key. The firm continued to enhance its large sector conferences, adding more companies—both public and private—which naturally led to greater investor interest while doubling down on creating smaller, more distinctive events—creating “almost bespoke experiences that provide deeper engagement,” Gaviria said. “Our thematic events were also especially popular this year, resonating strongly with clients seeking focused, idea-driven discussions.”

Corporate access functions as an extension of sales, he added, with proximity to clients and constant collaboration across the firm. “The concept of an ‘integrated Morgan Stanley’ isn’t just aspirational—it’s how we operate every day. Our long-standing partnership with research remains a cornerstone of that integration; our sectorized team has grown alongside analysts for years, fostering trust and alignment. Similarly, our partnership with Investment Banking is key—private companies represent an increasingly important access channel, with nearly 75% of our U.S. conferences featuring private company participation." 

With this type of approach, it is unsurprising that Morgan Stanley once again topped Extel’s annual ranking of U.S. sales teams.

The rest of the 2025 generalist sales leaderboard mirrored its 2024 counterpart: J.P. Morgan took second followed by BofA Securities in third. Jefferies and UBS placed fourth and fifth respectively.

Voters could name their top five firms for the overall generalist sales across six performance attributes. For specialist sales, voters could rate up to seven firms in the eight categories. Morgan Stanley topped the specialist leaderboard as well followed by UBS in second place and BofA Securities in third. J.P. Morgan took fourth and Jefferies was up one spot to round out the top five.

The past year was defined by shifting monetary, fiscal, and regulatory policies; resilient earnings; and selective investor positioning amid elevated valuations, according to Nick Savone, Morgan Stanley’s global head of equity advisory. AI-driven growth, consumer strength, and sector rotations created meaningful dispersion across markets.

“Throughout all this, our team at Morgan Stanley focused on helping clients navigate these dynamics by leveraging our research, corporate access, and full-spectrum equity product suite to deliver unique solutions to our clients,” he added.

Ashton Curtis, the firm’s head of Americas sector specialist sales, said the firm approaches markets, investors, and stocks globally and collaboratively, which has allowed its teams to work closely to prosecute business in an organized manner, and he highlighted the difference between generalist and specialist sales teams.

“Our leaders in equity sales are those who have the trust and ear of key decision makers at the accounts we service and are quick to react to changes in the market,” he said. “They do so knowing our organization fully, delivering the entirety of the firm in a way that our competitors cannot.

“Similarly, our top specialists can go very deep on an industry vertical or individual stock but message the conclusion or action on the back of it in simple terms that resonate with both sub-sector experts and generalist portfolio managers,” he said. “Beyond that, rigor around consistency of product output, providing context around headlines, earnings, and research reports, as well as knowing their audience and the market’s mood at any given time are critical aspects of a successful specialist.”

Jose Yearwood, co-head of Americas Cash Equities Sales at J.P. Morgan, reported that the volatility surrounding the announcement of tariffs, geopolitical uncertainty, the rotation into international equities versus the US, and the emergence of AI as a dominant theme have collectively made this year both challenging and dynamic. “We cover a highly diverse client base, which provides us with a broad range of perspectives on the market and the factors influencing each segment,” he added. “We prioritize close collaboration with our client partners, actively seek their feedback, and strive to deliver the full breadth of the firm’s capabilities in a thoughtful and impactful way.”

Yearwood credited the firm’s “talented, experienced, and collaborative team” that delivered in the highly competitive U.S. sales landscape—and amid market volatility.

“The steady level of client activity and engagement throughout the year has been both notable and encouraging,” he said. “Despite the VIX spiking over 52 in early April and a backdrop of macroeconomic uncertainty and shifting monetary policies, the market’s resilience following the tariff shock was truly remarkable. It is encouraging to see where we stand today in terms of both market and economic performance.”

Despite the plethora of macro headlines, the key to equities is all about earnings, concluded Erika Kingetsu, head of US and International Equity Sales for the Americas at Morgan Stanley. “The dispersion driving single stock alpha is alive and well, while the market contends with whether we will see a sustainable broadening and more evidence of the benefits of AI outside of just the tech and powering AI segments of the market,” she said.

Figuring out the signal from the noise will continue to be a big focus, with the rapid fire headlines a feature not a bug. The market reaction function to the headlines creates a rich backdrop of opportunities to generate alpha, and we look forward to staying close to our clients on what will likely be a busy 2026,” she added.