F&C multi-manager Paul Carne and analyst Catherine Sauer are to join Thames River by the end of the year, with Carne heading up the Lifestyle fund range when it migrates across.
Meanwhile F&C head of multi-manager Dean Cheeseman and fund manager Oliver Sonnbichler have agreed to leave the firm by mutual consent.
Thames River multi-manager heads Rob Burdett and Gary Potter will see four of F&C's MM funds merged with equivalent funds in their range, subject to shareholder and regulatory approval.
F&C's Multi Manager Cautious, Distribution, and Balanced Managed funds will unite with Thames River's similarly-named funds. F&C Multi Manager Growth will merge with Thames River Equity Managed fund.
The merger will result in Thames River Multi-Capital becoming one of the largest players in UK retail multi-management by AUM, the group says.
Potter and Burdett officially took responsibility for the combined fund of funds this week.
However, Burdett says he is not likely to make major changes to holdings before the funds themselves merge, expected by year's end.
Meanwhile, F&C's head of corporate affairs Jason Hollands said he expects about a dozen redundancies among the 1100 combined staff, but asset management teams will be kept largely intact.
Retrenchment will occur mainly among distribution and infrastructure units, he says. "You will see very little retrenchment on the investment management side," he adds.
"The attractive part of the deal is there is very little overlap. What Thames River does is mostly absolute return, whereas F&C is more long-only institutional. Cost savings is not a driver of the M&A."
