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Morgan Stanley AIP hires IFC’s Wilton

Wilton will join Morgan Stanley Alternative Investment Partners which is in market with its sophomore real estate secondaries fund.

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Morgan Stanley has appointed David Wilton as managing director of its Alternative Investment Partners business. Wilton will be focusing on the private equity side of the unit and reporting to John Wolak.

Wilton joins Morgan Stanley from the International Finance Corporation where he spent 14 years, most recently as chief investment officer of the private equity arm.

David Wilton
David Wilton

In his new role, Wilton will support Morgan Stanley’s sustainable investing efforts, which have been underway for a year. The AIP group plans to develop a private equity impact-investing program in partnership with the Morgan Stanley Institute for Sustainable Investing, which seeks to drive private capital toward investments promoting sustainable and profitable economic growth.

“I am very excited to be joining the private equity team at Morgan Stanley Alternative Investment Partners,” Wilton said. “I believe AIP is uniquely positioned to deliver an innovative private equity solution to investors who want to make a measurable positive impact while still seeking to generate market-rate returns.”

AIP is in market with its AIP Phoenix Global Real Estate Secondaries Fund II 2013. The fund had collected $138 million toward its $500 million target, according to PEI’s Research and Analytics division.

Its predecessor, Phoenix Global Real Estate Secondaries Fund I, closed in March 2010 on $370 million, well above its $250 million target. Limited partners in the fund include Swedish pension AP Fonden III and the West Midlands Pension Fund.
The firm also recently closed its second private equity secondaries fund. AIP Global Secondary Opportunities II surpassed its $600 million target and raised $770 million last year, according to PEI data. Fund II focuses on off-market secondary opportunities and emphasises small- and mid- cap buyouts and special situations funds

AIP’s secondaries programme is led by Jonathan Costello. The firm was created in 2000 and currently has about $36.4 billion in assets under management and advisement.