Morgan Closes Largest-Ever RE Fund

Morgan Stanley Real Estate has announced the completion of fundraising for what it calls the largest-ever real estate fund, with $8 billion of equity commitments from investors in North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.Morgan Stanley said it invested just over 20% of the equity raised for the fund, MSREF VI International, which it said has buying power in excess of $30 billion. Investments include non-U.S. real estate assets, portfolios, and companies, primarily in developed markets such as Japan, Western Europe, and Australia and emerging markets such as China, India, Russia, Turkey, and Latin America, the company said. "We believe that attractive opportunities to invest in real estate around the globe will continue as demand for all asset types outpaces supply," said Sonny Kalsi, managing director and global co-head of Morgan Stanley Real Estate Investing. "Global employment growth, an aging population in the West, a growing population in the East, and accelerating urbanization in many emerging markets will drive the need for all types of quality real estate." The company can be found online at http://www.morganstanley.com.