Morgan Stanley Investment Management, which has spent about $1bn (€750m) on a string of purchases this year following five years of under-investment, is on the hunt for more acquisitions.

Owen Thomas, president of Morgan Stanley Investment Management, said he wants to fill product gaps in traditionally managed UK and global equities by making acquisitions. He said he would also consider hiring more teams of managers. The latest is a team of European equity managers from SG Asset Management, led by Matthew Leeman, who will join Morgan Stanley in London next week. Since January, the division has bought three hedge funds and minority stakes in Avenue Capital and Lansdowne Partners. It has also done four team lift-outs and a revamp of the traditional long-only business is next. Rebuilding the business for Morgan Stanley's institutional clients is high on the agenda. Thomas said: "In the traditional business, we are certainly looking at UK and global equities. We will look at acquisitions if they fit the product capability we want. They need to be a good fit culturally and make sense for our shareholders." Morgan Stanley runs global value, growth and quantitatively managed funds. Any addition would complement those and is likely to be a core/blend strategy. The bank also intends to make more acquisitions in alternatives, particularly outside the US. He said: "Some of the focus will be non-US. I don't think there will be another FrontPoint-like transaction, but we're going to look at individual teams and capabilities." He is looking at acquisition opportunities in high-growth markets, such as China, Brazil, India and Australia. "If you have local product, it demonstrates more of a commitment to the market," said Thomas.