Morgan Stanley snatches investment strategy star from Bernstein

Morgan Stanley said it hired Adam Parker from Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. as U.S. equity strategist. He will join the New York-based company on Sept. 9, according to an internal memo confirmed by Sandra Hernandez, a spokeswoman. Parker spent more than 10 years at Bernstein, an investment research firm owned by AllianceBernstein LP, the New York-based manager of $466 billion. Most recently he was chief investment strategist and director of quantitative research, according to the memo. He was a runner-up in both categories in Institutional Investor's 2009 survey. Previous roles included global director of research and senior semiconductor analyst. Stephen Penwell, head of North America equity research, will oversee Parker, who will make the firm's forecasts for the Standard & Poor's 500 Index. Jason Todd, a global equity strategist, has had that responsibility since the January 2009 departure of Abhijit Chakrabortti, who was U.S. equity strategist. Parker, who didn't immediately return a phone call to his office at Bernstein, earned a doctorate in statistics from Boston University, a master's degree in biostatistics from the University of North Carolina and bachelor's degree in statistics from the University of Michigan, according to the memo.