securities exchange. Therefore, there may be little or no secondary market for the securities. MS & Co. may, but is not obligated to, make a market in the securities and, if it once chooses to make a market, may cease doing so at any time. When it does make a market, it will generally do so for transactions of routine secondary market size at prices based on its estimate of the current value of the securities, taking into account its bid/offer spread, our credit spreads, market volatility, the notional size of the proposed sale, the cost of unwinding any related hedging positions, the time remaining to maturity and the likelihood that it will be able to resell the securities. Even if there is a secondary market, it may not provide enough liquidity to allow you to trade or sell the securities easily. Since other broker-dealers may not participate significantly in the secondary market for the securities, the price at which you may be able to trade your securities is likely to depend on the price, if any, at which MS & Co. is willing to transact. If, at any time, MS & Co. were to cease making a market in the securities, it is likely that there would be no secondary market for the securities. Accordingly, you should be willing to hold your securities to maturity.
■The rate we are willing to pay for securities of this type, maturity and issuance size is likely to be lower than the rate implied by our secondary market credit spreads and advantageous to us. Both the lower rate and the inclusion of costs associated with issuing, selling, structuring and hedging the securities in the original issue price reduce the economic terms of the securities, cause the estimated value of the securities to be less than the original issue price and will adversely affect secondary market prices. Assuming no change in market conditions or any other relevant factors, the prices, if any, at which dealers, including MS & Co., may be willing to purchase the securities in secondary market transactions will likely be significantly lower than the original issue price, because secondary market prices will exclude the issuing, selling, structuring and hedging-related costs that are included in the original issue price and borne by you and because the secondary market prices will reflect our secondary market credit spreads and the bid-offer spread that any dealer would charge in a secondary market transaction of this type as well as other factors.
The inclusion of the costs of issuing, selling, structuring and hedging the securities in the original issue price and the lower rate we are willing to pay as issuer make the economic terms of the securities less favorable to you than they otherwise would be.
However, because the costs associated with issuing, selling, structuring and hedging the securities are not fully deducted upon issuance, for a period of up to 6 months following the issue date, to the extent that MS & Co. may buy or sell the securities in the secondary market, absent changes in market conditions, including those related to the underlying stocks, and to our secondary market credit spreads, it would do so based on values higher than the estimated value, and we expect that those higher values will also be reflected in your brokerage account statements.
■The estimated value of the securities is determined by reference to our pricing and valuation models, which may differ from those of other dealers and is not a maximum or minimum secondary market price. These pricing and valuation models are proprietary and rely in part on subjective views of certain market inputs and certain assumptions about future events, which may prove to be incorrect. As a result, because there is no market-standard way to value these types of securities, our models may yield a higher estimated value of the securities than those generated by others, including other dealers in the market, if they attempted to value the securities. In addition, the estimated value on the pricing date does not represent a minimum or maximum price at which dealers, including MS & Co., would be willing to purchase your securities in the secondary market (if any exists) at any time. The value of your securities at any time after the date of this document will vary based on many factors that cannot be predicted with accuracy, including our creditworthiness and changes in market conditions. See also “The market price will be influenced by many unpredictable factors” above.
■Hedging and trading activity by our affiliates could potentially affect the value of the securities. One or more of our affiliates and/or third-party dealers expect to carry out hedging activities related to the securities (and to other instruments linked to the underlying stocks), including trading in the underlying stocks. Some of our affiliates also trade the underlying stocks and other financial instruments related to the underlying stocks on a regular basis as part of their general broker-dealer and other businesses. As a result, these entities may be unwinding or adjusting hedge positions during the term of the securities, and the hedging strategy may involve greater and more frequent dynamic adjustments to the hedge as the final observation date approaches. Any of these hedging or trading activities on or prior to the pricing date could potentially increase the initial share price of an underlying stock, and, therefore, could increase (i) the coupon threshold level for such underlying stock, which, if the securities have not been redeemed, is the value at or above which such underlying stock must close on the observation dates so that you receive a contingent monthly coupon on the securities (depending also on the performance of the other underlying stocks), and (ii) the downside threshold level for such underlying stock, which, if the securities have not been redeemed prior to maturity, is the value at or above which such underlying stock must close on the final observation date so that you are not exposed to the negative performance of the worst performing underlying stock at maturity (depending also on the performance of the other underlying stocks). Additionally, such hedging or trading activities during the term of the securities could potentially affect the value of any underlying stock on the observation dates, and, accordingly, whether we pay a contingent monthly coupon on the securities and the amount of cash you will receive at maturity, if any (depending also on the performance of the other underlying stocks).
■The calculation agent, which is a subsidiary of Morgan Stanley and an affiliate of MSFL, will make determinations with respect to the securities. As calculation agent, MS & Co. will determine the initial share prices, the coupon threshold levels, the downside threshold levels, the final share prices, the payment at maturity, if any, whether you receive a contingent monthly coupon