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Fund management
AXA Investment Managers has acquired Framlington Group from HSBC and Comerica for £174 million. The deal adds about £4 billion to AXA's £52 billion ($93.5 billion) in UK assets under management, and puts an end to rumours that AXA IM was considering scaling down its UK business.
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Hedge funds
Emerging markets might be the flavour of the month for hedge funds, but Europe has proved itself as the region that produces the highest returns. According to MSCI, funds in its hedge fund indices that focus on emerging markets outperformed all other categories in Q2 with a gain of +1.7%. But Europe has delivered the best year-to-date performance of any geography: +4.2%.
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People moves
James Gorman, president of Merrill Lynch Global Private Clients, is to move to Morgan Stanley early next year to become president and chief operating officer of the individual investor group. It will be interesting to see which marketing stunts Gorman employs to win over his Morgan Stanley colleagues. When the Australian joined Merrill Lynch, he famously dressed up as Crocodile Dundee for a company video, and brought a live bull on stage at an investor presentation.