Merrill Lynch Investment Managers (MLIM) has now confirmed that Keith Mullins and Nick Salter, two of its most senior fund managers, have quit the firm.

Mullins and Salter have taken advantage of Merrill Lynch's voluntary redundancy programme, announced a month ago. A spokeswoman for MLIM said these were the only fund managers or analysts to have left. She said no client relationship staff had departed, although a number of administrative staff had gone. She declined to give the number.