Another $40bn of index assets has today slipped out of Deutsche Asset Management's door, following the departure last July of key Deutsche executives to Merrill Lynch.

New York City Retirement Systems switched most of its $44bn account to Barclays Global Investors (BGI) and Merrill Lynch, taking the total of Deutsche's losses to about $60bn of the $200bn passive funds that it inherited with its purchase of Bankers Trust Corp last year.