T. Rowe Price has appointed the former head of retail at F&C as head of intermediary relationship management, UK and Ireland.
Value is drying up among the largest investment trusts in the market, with discounts shrinking as buyers favour more liquid products.
Thames River chief executive Toby Hampden-Acton has become the latest senior figure to leave F&C.
Liontrust's chief executive John Ions said he hired Thames River's former credit head - just 18 months after selling Liontrust's existing credit arm - for its global specialism.
The election of Shinzō Abe as Japanese prime minister could be the catalyst for the region to outperform after years of flagging returns, prompting asset allocators to review their underweight exposure to the country.
F&C Investments has overhauled its fixed income arm, with six members of the team - including fund manager Fatima Luis - exiting the business.
Standard Life Investments' £13bn Global Absolute Return Strategies (GARS) fund has bought back into European equities for the first time in over a year.