Morgan Stanley AIP holds close on new FoF

Morgan Stanley Alternative Investment Partners (AIP), the fund of funds unit of Morgan Stanley, has held a final close on its first standalone fund of funds targeting real, financial and intellectual property assets.

Private Markets Income Fund I (PMIF I) closed on more than $225 million, the firm said in a statement on 23 February. The fund, which launched in 2014, will invest in niche income-oriented private market strategies across primary, secondaries and co-investment strategies.

“Our clients rely on alternative investments to meet many different objectives, and this capital raise demonstrates how investors are now looking to this asset class to deliver a balance of yield and total return,” John Wolak, head of AIP Private Markets, said in the statement.

PMIF I is significantly smaller than the firm’s previous fund of funds, the 2014-vintage AIP Private Markets Fund VI which closed on $1 billion, and the 2013-vintage AIP Global Secondary Opportunities Fund II, a dedicated secondaries vehicle that raised $770 million, according to PEI Research & Analytics.

PMIF I will target real assets, private credit, royalties and special situations. While the fund is Morgan Stanley AIP’s debut vehicle solely dedicated to this strategy, the firm has been investing in this space since 2000, according to the statement.

Morgan Stanley AIP, which is part of Morgan Stanley Investment Management, invests across private equity, real estate, hedge funds and multi-asset class strategies for institutional investors and high net worth clients, according to the statement. The unit had $37 billion in assets under management on 31 December.