Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman has announced his intentions to retire. 

Gorman told shareholders at the bank's annual meeting that he will be retiring in the next 12 months. 

The CEO has been with Morgan Stanley since 2006, when he was hired as chief operating officer for its Global Wealth Management Group. 

He was promoted to co-president within just a year. 

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Morgan Stanley is now looking for its next chief executive internally, stating that there are currently three candidates under consideration. 

Gorman says he will stay on as executive chairman of the board for some time after retiring from his position as CEO.

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Gorman became Morgan Stanley's chief executive in 2010 amidst the aftermath of the 2008 recession, which threatened to tank the bank.

As CEO, Gorman struck major deals including the acquisitions of money manager Eaton Vance, online broker E*Trade and stock-plan manager Solium Capital. 

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He was also the key architect behind Morgan Stanley's purchase of Smith Barney, a brokerage and investment adviser that became a cornerstone of the bank's wealth management arm.

Morgan Stanley's first-quarter profit beat expectations as rising revenue from wealth management in the first quarter offset declines in investment banking and trading. Wealth management accounted for 45% of the firm's revenue, the results showed.

Fox Business's Joe Toppe and Charlie Gasparino contributed to this report.