Morgan Stanley Alternative Investment Partners (AIP) has raised $516m for Riverview Strategic Opportunities Fund III (SOF III), an opportunistic hedge fund solution focused on hedge fund secondaries and co-investments.

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Image: Morgan Stanley Headquarters in New York. Photo: Courtesy of Morgan Stanley.

Both institutional and high net worth investors took part in the funding round.

The fund is AIP’s third vintage of the strategic opportunities series and is consistent with SOF I and SOF II.

SOF III intends to solve the recent liquidity pressure on hedge funds by buying hedge fund secondaries and will seek co-investment partnerships with managers on medium-term investments.

Morgan Stanley Investment Management chief investment officer and AIP Hedge Funds team head Mark van der Zwan said: “We are pleased investors continue to see promise in our fund’s differentiated approach as hedge funds look to alleviate the constraints they face in the market and seek opportunities in the liquidity gap between traditional hedge fund and private equity investments.

“Our experienced team is well positioned to deliver consistency in expertise and execution. We are confident that the Fund will benefit from access to AIP’s strong global network of hedge fund relationships, deep proprietary research and rigorous due diligence process.”

Institutions  private and public pensions, corporations, foundations and family offices, as well as high net worth individuals, from a range of geographies are investors of SOF III.

Morgan Stanley Investment Management distribution global head and solutions and multi-asset group co-head Jacques Chappuis stated that the new fund provides opportunity for Morgan Stanley’s clients to capture transient opportunities in the market and value for investors.

“AIP is one of the first and most experienced buyers in the hedge fund secondaries market and has built some of the strongest relationships in the hedge fund industry as a result, allowing us to offer a well sourced and competitive investment product,” Chappuis said.

Established in 2000, AIP’s Hedge Fund has experience in making direct fund investments, secondary investments and co-investments across all hedge fund strategies. It has nearly $23bn in assets under management and advisement of 31 March, this year.