Morgan Stanley Investment Management (MSIM) today announced that Morgan Stanley Alternative Investment Partners (AIP) raised $1.14 billion in commitments for Morgan Stanley Private Markets Fund IV ("Private Markets Fund IV"), a private equity fund of funds. The capital raised for Private Markets Fund IV represents a nearly 15 percent increase over that of Morgan Stanley Private Markets Fund III ("Private Markets Fund III"), which AIP closed in 2006.
"AIP's successful fund-raising effort during an extremely challenging market environment demonstrates the strength of our investment approach and our stable team of talented managers," said Stu Bohart, Co-Head of MSIM and Head of Alternative Investments.
"We believe that demand for comprehensive expertise in the private equity investment space combined with our unique investment strategy contributed to strong demand from investors on a global basis," said Cory Pulfrey, Head of AIP. "We were especially pleased with the robust level of commitments to Private Markets Fund IV from both existing AIP investors and new limited partners."
Private Markets Fund IV incorporates three main strategies: Buyouts, primarily in North America and Western Europe, global Venture Capital and global Special Situations. AIP's investment strategy emphasizes less efficient market segments and targets managers with differentiated skill sets in the U.S., Western Europe and emerging private-equity markets.
"We search broadly for opportunities that are highly differentiated relative to their peer set," said Tom Dorr, Chief Investment Officer, Private Equity Fund of Funds Team. "Overall, these opportunities must fit within a diversified portfolio framework while capitalizing on current market dislocations. In today's environment, distressed - including secondary purchases - and asset-backed strategies are especially attractive."
The objective of Private Markets Fund IV is to provide investors with superior risk-adjusted returns through global investments in primary funds, co-investments and direct secondaries. Private Markets Fund III shared the same objective and raised $1 billion in commitments.
Alternative Investment Partners (AIP) is the fund of funds division of Morgan Stanley Investment Management. AIP manages portfolios of hedge funds, private equity funds and real estate funds for some of the world's largest institutions and high net worth individuals. AIP has offices in West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania; New York; London and has recently opened an office in Hong Kong.
Morgan Stanley Investment Management (MSIM), together with its investment advisory affiliates, has nearly 1,000 investment professionals around the world and approximately $399 billion in assets under management or supervision as of November 30, 2008. By leveraging its global ‘community of boutiques' structure and the strength of Morgan Stanley, MSIM strives to provide outstanding long-term investment performance, service and a comprehensive suite of investment management solutions to a diverse client base, which includes governments, institutions, corporations and individuals worldwide.
Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is a leading global financial services firm providing a wide range of investment banking, securities, investment management and wealth management services. The Firm's employees serve clients worldwide including corporations, governments, institutions and individuals from more than 600 offices in 37 countries. For further information about Morgan Stanley, please visit www.morganstanley.com.
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