Morgan Stanley Investment Management (MSIM) announced today that Joseph D. Stecher will be joining Morgan Stanley Alternative Investment Partners (“Morgan Stanley AIP”) as Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer of the Firm’s real estate fund of funds business and will be responsible for overseeing the identification, selection and management of real estate funds. He will be based in New York and will work closely with Paul Vosper, Chief Operating Officer of the real estate fund of funds business, who is based in London.
Mr. Stecher has almost 25 years of real estate experience across all property types, structures and regions. He joins Morgan Stanley from Goldman Sachs where he was managing a global program of real estate funds of funds and separate accounts for institutions and high net worth individuals. Prior to Goldman, Mr. Stecher was at General Motors Asset Management for 15 years where he managed $1.5 billion of direct and indirect private equity real estate, committed more than $5 billion to a mix of real estate investments and oversaw the asset management of more than 33 million square feet of real estate. Mr. Stecher is a past Board Member of the Pension Real Estate Association (PREA), a member of the Urban Land Institute (UD/MUC Silver Council) (ULI), the National Council of Real Estate Investment Fiduciaries (NCREIF) and the European Association for Investors in Non-Listed Real Estate Vehicles (INREV).
The real estate fund of funds business is part of Morgan Stanley AIP, which includes portfolios of hedge funds and private equity funds. The real estate fund of funds business will offer solutions to clients seeking exposure to a global portfolio of opportunistic and value-added real estate funds, secondaries and co-investments, while seeking to provide superior risk adjusted returns.
“MSIM’s real estate fund of funds business is designed to offer clients an alternative means to access the real estate markets globally,” said Cory Pulfrey, Head of Morgan Stanley Alternative Investment Partners. “Joseph’s track record in pricing and structuring large complex transactions, developing strategies for operation and exit, evaluating partners and managing real estate makes him the ideal chief investment officer for our real estate fund of funds business.”
Commenting on Mr. Stecher’s appointment, Stuart Bohart, Co-Head of MSIM said, “Real estate complements Morgan Stanley AIP’s client offerings in high alpha private equity and hedge funds, all of which have low correlation to other asset classes. Morgan Stanley’s real estate expertise is extensive and I am confident that Joseph’s background in this field and his keen understanding of the markets globally will make him a strong investment officer as we expand our real estate offering to include fund of funds.” Mr. Bohart confirmed that the Firm intends to support the business with dedicated investing and distribution teams, and capital.
Morgan Stanley has been involved in the real estate industry since 1969. Today, the Firm manages more than $88 billion of private equity real estate and approximately $20 billion of global public real estate securities. Morgan Stanley also offers a complete range of market-leading investment banking services for real estate clients and is a global leader in real estate lending, offering approximately $199.6 billion of commercial mortgage backed securities through the capital markets since 1997.
Morgan Stanley Investment Management, together with its investment advisory affiliates, has nearly 1000 investment professionals around the world and approximately $577 billion in assets under management or supervision as of February 29, 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 AIP, founded in April 2000, manages portfolios of hedge funds and private equity funds for some of the world’s largest institutions and high net worth individuals.
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 33 countries. For further information about Morgan Stanley, please visit www.morganstanley.com.
Note to Editors:
Joseph D. Stecher Biography
Professional
• Goldman Sachs 2007-2008, Managing Director
• General Motors Asset Management 1991-2007, Portfolio Manager and Director of Business Strategy
• Banque Indosuez 1998-1990, Assistant Vice President
• Olympia & York 1984-1988
o 1987-1999: Senior Financial Analyst
o 1986-1987: Financial Analyst
o 1984-1986: Junior Financial Analyst
Education
• New York University Stern School of Business, New York, New York, MBA, Finance
• Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut, BA with Honors, Literature with Philosophy and History
Associations
• Pension Real Estate Association (PREA), Director, Board of Trustees
• Urban Land Institute (UD/MUC Silver Council) (ULI)
• National Council of Real Estate Investment Fiduciaries (NCREIF)
• European Association for Investors in Non-Listed Real Estate Vehicles (INREV)
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