Morgan Stanley may buy Traxis hedge fund

Morgan Stanley is in talks to purchase a 20% stake in Traxis Partners LP, a hedge fund founded by the company's former chief strategist, Barton Biggs. The move, which the New York-based company could announce within a month, would give it a stake in the $1.5 billion "macro" fund that trades in global currencies, fixed income and equities, according to published reports. Mr. Biggs left Morgan Stanley in 2003 to form Greenwich, Conn.-based Traxis. Morgan Stanley has been a general partner in the fund since it was founded in 2003 and it continues to provide operational, compliance and administrative support. Morgan Stanley has purchased stakes in four hedge funds since last fall. For instance, it purchased Abax Global Capital Ltd. on March 13, which is a Hong Kong-based hedge fund adviser formed to invest in private and public-sector issuers in China, Taiwan and Hong Kong.