Morgan Stanley Real Estate has raised a total of $ 8 bn (EUR 6 bn) in equity capital for its MSREF VI International fund among institutional and retail investors in North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Just over 20% of the total equity raised has been invested.

Morgan Stanley Real Estate has raised a total of $ 8 bn (EUR 6 bn) in equity capital for its MSREF VI International fund among institutional and retail investors in North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Just over 20% of the total equity raised has been invested.

The fund has buying power in excess of $30 bn, Morgan Stanley said in a statement. Investments include non-US real estate assets, portfolios and companies primarily in developed markets such as Japan, Western Europe, and Australia. Investments have also been made in emerging markets, including China, India, Russia, Turkey and Latin America.

'The record size of this fund, both for Morgan Stanley Real Estate and among real estate investment managers, is indicative of strong capital flows into real estate as new investors seek exposure to the asset class and existing investors increase their allocations,' said John Carrafiell, managing director and global co-head of Morgan Stanley RE Investing.

To date, the MSREF series of funds have acquired real estate assets globally involving some $83.5 bn with assets under management of $31.6 bn. With the closing of MSREF V US in September 2006 at $1.75 bn, MSREF raised a total of $9.75 bn of equity to invest globally during the past year.