AXA Investment Managers is negotiating to distribute funds from Alliance Capital in France and the United Kingdom. New York City-based Alliance is owned by France's AXA. Nicolas Moreau, chief executive of AXA Investment Managers, revealed the negotiations in an interview published this morning by the Wall Street Journal.

Moreau said AXA Investment Managers intends to mainly sell U.S. equity growth-style funds managed by Alliance. The shift may also reflect new beliefs brought by the relatively young Moreau. At 37 years old, he took the CEO slot last April.

"Whether or not to sell non-AXA products in Europe was a debate before," he is quoted as saying by the paper. "But what's important for me now is the bottom line."

The shift is part of a realization that "only the best" funds will sell in the future. AXA plans to use its broad European distribution to sell those funds rather than relying on proprietary product. It has 3,500 insurance agents in France, for example.

The firm is likely to concentrate on its proprietary fixed income funds and seek non-proprietary offerings in other areas. One area in which it seeks help is in funds investing in non-European funds. Earlier this year it farmed advisory duties on its balanced funds out to AXA Barr Rosenberg. 

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