It came as a surprise to see Integrated Asset Management, a London-quoted fund of hedge funds manager, sell the bulk of its asset management business last week. Integrated’s disposal of Altigefi and its $800m of fund of hedge funds assets to Luxembourg private bank Sal Oppenheim stood out because there have been far fewer such deals than expected.

Bankers and asset managers were predicting 2009 would be a record year for takeovers in the industry, but only 37 mergers and acquisitions were signed in the first three months of this year compared with 57 a year ago, according to investment bank Jefferies Putnam Lovell.