MONACO – Nicola Horlick, the high profile former Deutsche Asset Management UK fund manager, has spoken about her recent reported attempted to buy the firm.

She told Paul Myners, the former Gartmore chairman who wrote an influential report on institutional investing, during an interview session at the Fund Forum conference in Monaco: “I do know that business quite well.”

She didn’t deny she was interested in the business, which has lost billions of pounds in assets under management amid an exodus of top staff.

Horlick said she believed there was an opportunity to turn the DeAM business around. “I would have been very happy to get the chance, which would have interested me. It would be a challenge.”

Referring to the current state of the DeAM business, she said: “It is a long and complicated story – too many acquisitions, too many different cultures coming together and not good enough corporate leadership.”

According to reports, BNP Paribas is the frontrunner to buy the business. DeAM spokespersons were not immediately available to comment.

Horlick is known as one of the drivers of the former Morgan Grenfell business that was bought by Deutsche in the early 90s. Assets under management rose from £12bn to £77bn by the time she left to form SG Asset Management in the UK in 1997.

Horlick added she saw growth potential for her new Bramdeam multi-management business among pension funds and rich people. She hoped to have £10bn in assets under management in five years time.

Meanwhile, Russell Investment Group said it has hired a former DeAM executive, Michael Hunt, to be its European director of operations. It said he was a former joint head of London operations and head of client services.

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