Morgan Stanley joins NEXTPredict as markets seek institutional use

Morgan Stanley is joining NEXTPredict as a strategic partner. The summit will take place in New York on October 22 and 23. Morgan Stanley will lead a day-two panel on institutional capital. Stephen Grambling will lead the panel. Grambling is Morgan Stanley's head of U.S. gaming, lodging and leisure research. NEXT.io co-founder Pierre Lindh said Morgan Stanley is the first bank to publicly support an initiative in the category. Grambling said institutional participation will depend on understanding the opportunity, market structure and risks. Kalshi raised at a reported $40 billion. Polymarket closed a round at $20 billion. DraftKings is worth about $13 billion. Around 90% of prediction market turnover is in sports, according to the summit's co-founder. Lindh said investors expect prediction markets to become a more institutional tool. He said banks could use the markets to hedge exposures that conventional instruments cannot hedge. Lindh said research desks are assessing whether market odds provide a better read on events than polling. He said other banks are examining internal forecasting and whether clients could use contracts to hedge business risks. Lindh said banks are waiting for regulatory clarity. Large banks are holding off until state-level litigation is resolved. Morgan Stanley participated in Kalshi's $1 billion Series F in May. That financing valued Kalshi at $22 billion. Morgan Stanley's wealth management arm examined prediction markets in an April report. The report said sector growth had outpaced its regulatory framework. Counterpoint Global published a study in August based on more than 72 million Kalshi trades. The study found that contract prices tracked outcomes closely. The study also found that traders slightly underrated favorites and overrated long shots. Lindh said NEXT.io has worked with Morgan Stanley for five years. NEXT.io also partners with Morgan Stanley on a sports betting show in March. Grambling championed the summit internally and cleared it across departments. Grambling is one of 15 recently added speakers. The confirmed NEXTPredict lineup has 91 speakers across five stages. Organizers expect about 2,500 attendees.