Purcell resigned as CEO of Morgan Stanley in June 2005 when a highly public campaign against him by former Morgan Stanley partners (the Group of Eight) threatened to disrupt and damage the firm and challenged his refusal to aggressively increase leverage, increase risk, enter the sub-prime mortgage business and make expensive acquisitions, the same actions related to the financial crisis of 2007–2008. The events that led to his resignation are covered in detail in a 2007 book by Patricia Beard, "".