Morgan Stanley Portfolio Manager Elmasry Quits

Prominent portfolio manager Hassan Elmasry is leaving Morgan Stanley at the end of April to launch his own boutique money management firm, the bank said Friday.

Elmasry runs Morgan Stanley's flagship $8.8 billion Global Brands fund as well as the $860 million American Franchise fund. A Morgan Stanley spokeswoman said the London-based manager informed the bank this week he was leaving after nearly 15 years at Morgan Stanley.

The bank spokeswoman did not immediately name a replacement for Elmasry, saying only "We are working on a management structure that supports the portfolio.''

Sources familiar with the situation said co-managers on the Global Brands team are negotiating their future at Morgan Stanley.

Global Brands is Morgan Stanley's flagship fund and last year posted the best performance in its class. Though losing 31 percent, its benchmark MSCI World index fell 42 percent. Since its launch in 2000, the Global Brands fund has generated an average return of 7 percent a year.

Elmasry is also a co-chief investment officer at Morgan Stanley Investment Management.

Morgan Stanley declined to make Elmasry available for comment. His office said he was traveling until next week.

(Like Elmasry, departures to start new firms has been a growing trend among fund managers. Watch the video for more...)

Elmasry made headlines two years ago when he agitated for corporate governance changes at New York Times in which his fund controlled 7 percent of its Class A shares.

Elmasry demanded the company dismantle a dual-class share structure that gives the Sulzberger family firm control of the business.

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