Morgan Stanley said Hassan Elmasry, a fund manager who manages portfolios worth about $9.66 billion, is leaving to start his own asset management company, according to Gulf News.

Mr Elmasry will remain at his London-based office until the end of April in order to oversee the transfer of his portfolios to new management, a spokesperson was quoted as saying.

He manages $8.8 billion of funds in the Global Franchise strategy and $860 million in the American Franchise strategy.

His funds focus on buying stock in companies whose success depends on intangible assets such as brand names, copyrights or distribution methods that underpin their franchise, according to Bloomberg.

Also at Morgan Stanley, the recruitment hunt is on for a new executive to run its $399 billion investment management business, currently overseen by a management troika, according to industry sources cited in Investment News.

Morgan Stanley executives, led by co-president James Gorman, are keen to improve the firm’s money management operation this year after it posted a $1.2 billion loss in the fourth quarter of 2008 and saw its assets under management slide roughly 34 per cent, or $206 billion, since the end of May.