Reuters – Morgan Stanley will continue to acquire hedge funds and managers, though at a much slower pace than in recent months, a top investment management executive told Reuters.
Three weeks ago, the investment banking giant announced three hedge fund deals in as many days, adding minority stakes in Avenue Capital Group and Lansdowne Partners and agreeing to acquire FrontPoint Partners.
The moves capped a yearlong effort to jump-start expansion of Morgan’s hedge fund business and revive the performance of its investment management unit. Going forward, Morgan will seek funds and managers that can fill out its menu of alternatives.
“We’re not close to anything right now, but you may see one or two more partnerships down the line, to fill around the edges where we don’t think we can offer best in class internally,” Stuart Bohart, Morgan Stanley’s head of alternative investments, said in an interview.
Among John Mack’s top priorities after he took over as chief executive in June was to expand the bank’s sales of hedge funds, one of Wall Street’s fastest growing businesses.
Mack told investors he would pursue small acquisitions and add managers to help Morgan close the gap on rivals such as Goldman Sachs, which has $629 billion in assets, including $139 billion in hedge funds and other alternatives.
