Deals involving asset managers rose in the July to September 2008 period, with the global credit crunch as the backdrop for a jump in divestitures to almost 40 per cent of total sales, up from 23 per cent a year earlier, according to New York-based Jefferies Putnam Lovell, the investment banking group of Jefferies & Company which focuses on the asset management and financial technology industries.

Sixty-nine asset manager transactions worldwide were announced in the third quarter of 2008, a third up on  52 in the July to September 2007 period. Total assets under management changing hands amounted to $1.0 trillion, more than three times the $300 billion total in the third quarter of 2007. Total disclosed deal value in the third quarter of 2008 increased to $6.4 billion from $6.1 billion a year earlier.

Aaron Dorr, a managing director at the firm, said:  ''In the short-term, we expect more banks and other cash strapped financial institutions to retreat from owning money managers, private equity firms to step up their growing involvement in the sector, and consolidation among hedge fund companies and other alternative asset managers as firms grapple with investor redemptions and lack of liquidity. Consistent with the broader financial services industry, the asset management sector is quickly reshaping.''