The UK asset manager Gartmore has introduced a new equity scheme in a bid to retain key employees and boost morale within the company after recent troubles. Furthermore, it is looking at opportunities to hire trading teams by the end of the year.

The share award scheme has so far been applied to portfolio managers and senior management, and is worth 3.5 per cent of the company’s equity, which at Friday’s closing price was equal to £13.5 million (around $20.7 million), according to media reports.

Earlier this year star trader Guillaume Rambourg left the firm to focus on an ongoing investigation by the Financial Services Authority, the UK regulator, over breaching internal trading rules.  Another trader, Gervais Williams, also left the firm earlier this month. Meanwhile, the asset manager reported a 10.3 per cent drop in assets under management for the first half of this year, to £19.9 billion.

As well as the share scheme, the firm is taking other steps to draw a line under previous troubles, and wants to add at least one trading team from a rival by the end of the year. Gartmore is looking for opportunities to hire top performing fund managers, a spokesperson told WealthBriefing. Furthermore, a client roadshow featuring top executives is planned, and a multi-million pound advertising campaign will be launched in the autumn.

So far this month Gartmore has already announced the hires of Jonathan Bloom as general counsel, replacing Bill McGowan, and Adam McConkey as head of UK smaller companies, replacing Williams.