"Just ask Sunil about his record collection," was the advice of a Hong Kong-based Citibanker, "you won't be disappointed." Sure enough, this question draws an enthusiastic response. "I think I have more CDs than certain record shops in Kuala Lumpur," laughs Sunil Sreenivasan.

Born out of a bloody cull, shaped by a succession of departures, HSBC Asset Management has led a tortured existence. While competitors have grown through acquisitions HSBC has been reinventing its business. The result? It's lagging behind the market leaders in both size and performance. Is now the time to buy? Andrew Capon and Julian Marshall report.

Is Mathis Cabiallavetta the Othello of the financial markets - a man who loved "not wisely but too well"? Dirk Schütz, author of the first history of the SBC/UBS merger, (Der Fall der UBS published by Bilanz), certainly blames Cab's loyalty for the quality of people he collected round him as he rose to the top of UBS.