Claude Chene, the chief executive of fund manager AllianceBernstein in Europe, responsible for about $50bn of assets, has quit the firm to lead the sales effort at Ignis Asset Management, a UK firm that runs only £9bn of assets for third-party institutions.

Ignis, a Glasgow company owned by insurer Phoenix Group, and AllianceBernstein, which is a subsidiary of French insurer Axa, confirmed the move. Chene is set to leave AllianceBernstein at the end of the day today.