Morgan Stanley's Real Estate Push

Morgan Stanley's(MS Quote) making a big push into real estate.

Last year Morgan Stanley ranked second behind private equity giant Blackstone Group in global real estate acquisitions. And while Blackstone is nailing down a $23 billion buyout of Chicago-based Equity Office (EOP Quote) in the biggest-ever office tower deal, Morgan Stanley is quietly working on its own mega-international fund. The brokerage is raising $8 billion for a fund that would look to make acquisitions worldwide.

Clearly, plenty of private equity money has been swirling around real estate. Domestic acquisitions in real estate made by private equity investors surged last year to $62.4 billion, according to Dealogic. ...