SWIP multi-manager head Mark Harries is moving back into equities, after halving his exposure following last August's sell-off.

The managers of the £98m Melchior North American Opportunities fund have reversed out of defensive names into more economically sensitive sectors, following the string of positive economic data that has emerged from the US in recent months.

Jonathan Ruffer, founder and director of boutique investment house Ruffer, has stepped back from direct involvement in the fund management within the firm.

The UK has just managed to avoid a technical recession, according to the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR), but output is unlikely to reach 2008 peak levels again until 2014.

Rathbone Brothers' subsidiary, Rathbone Investment Management, has acquired wealth management firm RM Walkden & Company following a stream of hires.

Three sales people at Neptune Investment Management have left the company to join an investment boutique start-up.

Spanish borrowing costs soared following a €2.5bn auction on Wednesday, which failed to meet its target.

BlackRock has poached seven emerging market debt managers from BNP Paribas Investment Partners.

The Malaysian branch of CIMB bank has snapped up the Royal Bank of Scotland's Asia Pacific units as the bank makes further moves to streamline operations.

Consistent outperformance is rare among UK retail funds, with only a handful remaining in the top quartile over five- and ten-year periods, research by Scottish Widows Investment Partnership (SWIP) has found.