CIC turns to Morgan Stanley, Blackstone in hedge-fund investments

Sovereign-wealth fund China Investment Corp (CIC) has chosen Morgan Stanley and Blackstone Group to oversee more than US$500 million in private-fund investments, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources familiar with the situation. CIC has reportedly allocated US$500 million to a unit of private equity group Blackstone that puts clients’ money into a range of individual hedge funds, while an additional sum will be allocated to the asset management unit of Morgan Stanley. None of the companies involved commented on the reports. CIC is also said to be considering putting billions more dollars directly into hedge funds, rather than using funds-of-funds, its preferred path to date.