Morgan Stanley's Ruth Hughes-Guden and Mary Meeker ranked number 23 and 27, respectively, on SmartMoney's list of its Top 30 Power Brokers. The SmartMoney 30, published in its September 1998 issue, is a ranking of "the most important person[s] in the ever-burgeoning world of mutual funds," and includes not only fund managers but also those who a fund manager "listens to, or is swayed by, or is marketed to…"

SmartMoney ranked Ruth Hughes-Guden, a Managing Director in Morgan Stanley Asset Management, number 23 on its list, recognizing her leadership and influence in the defined-contribution plan sponsor universe and citing her as "one reason many [Americans] are now paying lower fees and have access to better-managed funds." Since Ruth joined the Firm in 1996, assets in defined-contribution plans managed have grown from $3.2 billion to over $8 billion. Ruth also heads up the National Defined Contribution Council, which lobbies on behalf of plan sponsors and consultants.

Mary Meeker, a Managing Director in Morgan Stanley's Equity Research Department, ranked number 27 on SmartMoney's list for her leadership in reading the Internet stock sector. SmartMoney described her as "often the first person many fund managers turn to when trying to put a value on an increasingly bewildering sector."