Asset managers

1. Aberdeen takes control of Horlick's Bramdean

   Aberdeen Asset Management has started managing the listed alternatives fund founded by Nicola Horlick two years ago, drawing a line under one of the highest profile management battles the City of London has witnessed in the past year.

2. Stanhope Capital grows staff by 50%

   Stanhope Capital, the private investment manager, has taken the opportunity to cherry-pick staff from rivals during the downturn, growing its headcount from 26 to 40 over the last year.

3. Santander merges asset management and private banking

   Spain's Banco Santander has decided to merge its asset management and global private banking operations, with Javier Marin to head the new division, the bank said Tuesday in a press release.

4. UBS Outlines Path to Profit

   UBS AG laid out ambitious plans to restore the troubled Swiss bank to profitability, but struggled to convince investors who worried that new management still faces an uphill battle in turning the group around.

5. McCann spells out UBS wealth plans on investor day debut

   Robert McCann, the new chief executive of UBS' Americas wealth management arm, spelled out plans to boost annual pre-tax profits at his division to more than Sfr1bn (€663m), after facing the bank's shareholders for the first time.

6. Gam shares leap 5% on asset rise result

   Shares in asset manager Gam Holding, which broke from Julius Baer last month, rose 5% in early trading today, after reporting a rise in assets under management. The news came in its first interim results as an independent company.

7. Swiss Banque Heritage Sees Gains From Foreign Expansion

   Geneva-based Banque Heritage is among the latest of a string of small Swiss private banks to expand its presence abroad as a way of offsetting the burden of increased regulation at home, and to compensate for the erosion of Switzerland's status as an offshore banking center.

8. Funds take off as investors return

   Many aspiring hedge fund managers were wringing their hands in frustration a year ago when seeking large backers. This year, many are rubbing their hands with glee, after at least 10 new funds raised $150m (€101m) or more.

9. Julius Baer Flags Slower Inflows Vs Mid-Yr; Assets Up

   Julius Baer Group AG Tuesday said that inflows of funds from wealthy clients have slowed from mid-2009, as clients in Europe shift assets and the Zurich-based bank exits U.S. business.

10. London limited to tactical hiring as outlook deteriorates

    With the exception of Barclays Wealth, London-based advisers have pulled back their hiring ambitions as the capital’s attractiveness for senior private bankers is questioned.