UBS has created a new division, Alternative Investment Solutions, which will merge the fund-of-funds business of the Stamford-based O'Connor division with AIS, UBS's Hong Kong-based fund-of-hedge-funds unit, Dow Jones reports.

The new division will be headed by Mike Welch, formerly head of O'Connor's fund of funds business.

O’Connor currently runs both single-manager funds and funds of funds, which has concerned some of its investors that business might go to single-manager funds regardless of performance. But, under the new arrangment, the O’Connor division will now be restructed to contain only its existing three single-strategy hedge funds.

UBS currently owns the largest fund of hedge funds in the world, with $13.5 billion under management. Gabelli Asset Management (GAM) is its manager. However, this fund will not be integrated with the new Alternative Investment Solutions because its client base is different. Alternative Investment Solutions is suited for institutional investors, such as pension funds and insurers, while GAM's client base generally includes wealthy individuals, according to Dow Jones.  

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