How Morgan Stanley’s Research Impacts The Future Of Psychedelic Investment
Over the past few decades, psychedelic drugs have revealed a host of medical benefits. And, with a persistent mental health crisis in the U.S., alternative treatments for physical and mental health issues are in higher demand — helping guide the way for psychedelic investment communities to expand.
The boom for psychedelic investment opportunities has been highlighted for years. But, thanks to a new report from banking giant Morgan Stanley, we now know how big this industry could become.
Morgan Stanley’s optimistic report views psychedelics as offering “a fundamental change in how mental health disorders are treated.” The report also views the industry’s potential as being a disruptive, yet promising, avenue for investment.
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Morgan Stanley’s First Official Comment On The Psychedelics Industry
Morgan Stanley boasts a comprehensive 30-person team of both researchers and investors, whose sole purpose is to identify emerging big ideas with far-reaching impacts. The team, called Counterpoint Global, published a report in July 2022 that highlights psychedelics as an emerging disruptive field with immense potential for growth. The optimistic report was especially promising considering it is the first official commentary on psychedelics by Morgan Stanley, and portrays a favorable outlook on the industry for both the impact it can make on the world, as well as investment potential.
What Morgan Stanley’s Introductory Report Found
The report begins with a brief history of psychedelics. It then dives into more detailed passages on what psychedelics are, their scientific influence, the history of psychedelics in the context of therapy, and the latest noteworthy literature and the various compounds’ mechanisms of action.
The report then looks at why the psychedelics industry is disruptive, highlighting the dulling and masking effects of traditional antidepressants, and life-changing effects of psychedelic medicine when combining with therapy. It outlines the vast unmet need — effective treatment for mental health disorders and addiction — and translates this into a vast potential market for psychedelics as mental health treatment.
While predominantly optimistic, the report couldn’t overlook the challenges facing the psychedelics industry. Achieving FDA-approval while navigating widely inaccessible and time-consuming training makes the advancement of psychedelics in medical contexts hugely complex and costly. In addition, the psychedelics industry has an uphill climb towards decriminalization. This, along with a decades-long stigma around things like MDMA and LSD, makes the outlook murky.
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How The Study Can Affect Psychedelic Investment
Overall, Morgan Stanley’s report is a favorable outlook on the psychedelics industry and its projected impact in the future. It’s framing the industry as a “bullish” market. This shares a similar outlook with a study by KPMG, making it a significant vote of confidence in psychedelic investment.
The report not only highlights the potential of the psychedelic investment industry, it also highlights the concerns around and threats to the industry. These include stigma, inaccessible infrastructure, difficulty reaching FDA-approval, and competition between psychedelic companies. After all, the Morgan Stanley data is important, but no one industry comes without financial risk when investing.
Ultimately, the hope is that the report encourages psychedelic investment and, consequently, improve mental health care in the U.S. This is done through improving access to practitioners, researchers and legal psychedelics, as well as life-saving psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy.
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The Future Of Psychedelic Investment: In Conclusion
The report by Morgan Stanley is promising because of its well-rounded and positive view of the psychedelics industry. But it’s also an important landmark. It is a sign that, finally, psychedelic investment is gaining recognition for being a disruptive, potential-filled market with many benefits.
