The fate of Morgan Stanley's Van Kampen Investments subsidiary continues to generate media buzz. The Wall Street Journal reports that Morgan Stanley "has been leaning more" toward a joint venture lately, rather than simply selling Van Kampen.

Morgan Stanley is eyeing the possibility of purchasing a minority stake in an asset manager that would acquire Van Kampen. Such a scenario would be similar to the BlackRock-Merrill Lynch deal in 2006, under which the wirehouse sold Merrill Lynch Investment Managers to BlackRock in exchange for a stake in the New York asset manager.

Bloomberg reported Wednesday last week that Morgan Stanley was discussing a transaction under which it would get a stake in Invesco.

Aside from Invesco, other firms that would be a good fit for Van Kampen include Franklin Resources, Aberdeen Asset Management, Federated Investors and Nuveen Investments, the WSJ reported, citing analysts. 

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