Dow Kim, former co-president of Merrill Lynch's global markets and investment banking group, has shelved plans to launch a hedge fund after prospective investors shelved their plans to invest about $1bn (€645.2m) in the portfolio.

According to Bloomberg, Kim had been in negotiations with institutions about an investment of about $1bn into his New York-based Diamond Lake Investment Group, a hedge fund that could trade a range of instruments in different markets.