Morgan Stanley wins over 90 Asia brokerage mandates

Hong Kong

MORGAN Stanley won more than 90 prime-broking mandates from hedge funds in Asia last year when rivals slowed expansion under tighter bank capital and liquidity rules.

The mandates were about evenly split between startups and established funds, said Nick Footitt, a Hong Kong-based spokesman for the world's second-largest provider of services to hedge funds, declining to give the number of regional clients. The bank is prepared to provide services to smaller hedge funds, even when the return may be low for the first one or two years, said Mehdee Reza, the Hong Kong-based head of core prime brokerage for Asia.