Morgan Stanley Investment Management has topped a list of best-selling fund managers in Europe for the first half of the year — a boost for a firm that is much smaller than its principal rivals.

Morgan Stanley pulled in more than £5bn from investors in the region in the first half, according to exclusive data provided to Financial News from fund research and data provider Morningstar. The New York-headquartered asset manager, which looks after $469bn in all, was buoyed by European inflows to its Global Opportunity fund.