There's a 50% chance of an economic recession but it will likely be mild, Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman says: 'I'm pretty relaxed'

Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman said that the chances of an economic recession are basically a coin flip.

At an investor conference on Monday, he said that he was pretty relaxed about the prospects of a downturn.

The market tells a different story when things seem shaky. He said he wasn't totally relaxed, but he was.

There was a chance of a recession. I thought it was about 30%. It's probably more like 50% now. He said it was important for you to be cautious.

A lot of Wall Street bank CEOs are talking about the threat of a recession. The current economic outlook is a "hurricane" on the horizon that requires preparation by investors and companies.

Consumers are worried about high inflation and rising interest rates, with the Federal Reserve expected to raise rates on Wednesday.

The Fed is capable of regaining control of inflation. I don't think we'll fall into a huge hole over the next few years. He thinks the Fed will get hold of inflation.

Morgan Stanley has a strong credit profile and is in good financial shape, according to Gorman.

Much of the risk focus is centered around data stability and cyber threats given where we are around the world and some of the uncertainties associated with that.

The S&P 500 is down 20% year-to-date and entered a bear market on Monday, but the tech-laden Nasdaq 100 is down 30% over the same period. It's likely that investors won't see a recovery in the near future.

He said that people's 401(k) plans would be down this year.