Morgan Stanley (MS) Killing Smith Barney

It appears that Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS), which controls Smith Barney and by extension its name, is seeking to kill the brand after 73 years of being part of the financial landscape in the U.S.

The giant financial institution said it's looking into getting rid of Smith Barney as a brand, according to the Wall Street Journal, citing people close to the situation.

This came up as a probability when Morgan Stanley queried its clients as to what they though of six names they presented as names for the operation, and Smith Barney wasn't among those offered.

When asked about the potential change, a spokesman for Morgan Stanley spokesman said "we regularly survey clients about a lot of things relevant to our brand, and I wouldn't read a whole lot into this."

Morgan Stanley gained control of Smith Barney when Citigroup (NYSE:C) spun it off as a joint venture two years ago.