MSDW breeds new runner in the fund management stakes

Almost four years after its merger with Dean Witter, Morgan Stanley's new-look asset management division is finally taking shape under Mitchell Merin. Bringing the cultures of disparate investment houses under one roof has involved asking headstrong individuals to embrace a team ethic. The new beast may have the potential to achieve its aim of being the world's number one fund manager in all asset classes. Even Europe and Asia, which have so far resisted its advances, could yet succumb. However careful jockeyship will be required to keep star managers happy and the charge on course. Later this year the Morgan Stanley name will oust Dean Witter yet it is Dean Witter alumni who hold the key positions, both in the investment division and in the Morgan Stanley Dean Witter group at large where internal divisions have started to surface. Merin and his team talk exclusively to Julian Marshall