David Wilton is joining Morgan Stanley Alternative Investment Partners as a managing director focused on private equity impact investing.

David Wilton is joining Morgan Stanley Alternative Investment Partners as a managing director focused on private equity impact investing.

Morgan Stanley's AIP will develop a private equity impact investing program in partnership with the Morgan Stanley Institute for Sustainable Investing, which seeks to drive private capital toward investments promoting sustainable and profitable economic growth.

Wilton, who is leading the effort, joins Morgan Stanley from the International Finance Corporation, where he was chief investment officer and manager of its global private equity arm. During his time at IFC, he helped build the private equity portfolio to some $4 billion invested in nearly 200 funds. Previously, he worked for the World Bank Pension Fund, managing private equity and real estate investing.

Morgan Stanley Alternative Investment Partners, which is part of Morgan Stanley Investment Management, aims to help institutional and high net worth investors achieve their goals through the design and management of alternative investment programs.

Established in 2000, AIP currently has approximately $36.4 billion in assets under management and advisement.

The development comes as people devote record amounts into impact investing strategies, which now account for nearly one out of every nine dollars invested in the US (source: Envestnet 2014). The term “impact investing” applies to strategies that combine environmental, social, corporate governance and/or faith-based criteria with traditional investment approaches.