Morgan Stanley reorganizes its real estate department

Morgan Stanley Real Estate co-head Jay Mantz is going to head up a new direct investment arm at the global investment bank, according to press reports.

The group will incorporate the firm’s real estate investment management business, a new infrastructure fund launched last year and its private equity funds under one umbrella. Mantz will reportedly head up the division with former Goldman Sachs pro Steve Trevor.

According to an internal Morgan Stanley memo obtained by Dow Jones Newswires, the real estate division got kudos for being one of the firm’s fastest growing sectors. The news agency reported that the memo says the real estate investment group “has experienced explosive growth from 1991 until now, with assets under management almost doubling in the last two years alone. Moving the business into [Morgan Stanley investment management] will combine all of the firm’s third-party funds management businesses.”

Last year, Morgan Stanley raised three separate private equity real estate funds totaling more than $8 billion. Morgan Stanley Real Estate Fund V, which focuses on non-US opportunities, raised $4.2 billion, while Morgan Stanley Real Estate Special Situations Fund III, which targets operating companies in emerging economies, raised $2.4 billion. The company’s other vehicle, Morgan Stanley Real Estate Fund V US, raised $1.8 billion to focus on opportunistic investments in the domestic market. Morgan Stanley is currently raising Morgan Stanley Real Estate Fund VI, which is targeting $8 billion.

The real estate department will continue to be run by current co-head John Carrafiell, who will be joined by Morgan Stanley veteran Sonny Kalsi, who previously headed the firm’s property activities in Asia.

Mantz joined Morgan Stanley in 1993 and moved to its London office in 1996 to head the firm’s European property funds. He was named the head of the Morgan Stanley Real Estate Investing Group in 1999.