Star hedge fund manager Coffey joins Moore Capital

LONDON (Reuters) - Star hedge fund manager Greg Coffey, who resigned from GLG Partners GLG.N earlier this year, has joined Moore Capital Management, the firm said on Monday.

Coffey, who ran $7 billion in assets at GLG, left the firm on Friday. He began work on Monday as co-chief investment officer of Moore Europe Capital Management, a subsidiary of New York-based global macro firm Moore Capital.

He joins with a 12-person team from GLG, including Eric Dannheim, who becomes chief operating officer. Coffey is likely to launch new funds at Moore in due course, an industry source said.

Coffey's decision to join an established firm such as Moore, rather than set up his own firm, may be an indication of how hard conditions have become in the $1.7 trillion industry, even for star managers, as funds lose money and investors withdraw cash.

"Greg Coffey is one of the most impressive trading professionals operating anywhere in the world today," said Louis Bacon, chairman and chief executive of Moor Capital, in a note.

"I have known Greg for a number of years and we have similar views with respect to markets and investment decisions."

Coffey, who joined GLG in 2003 from a hedge fund backed by industry legend George Soros, earned an estimated $300 million last year, according to Alpha Magazine.

He won the Fund of the Year award at the EuroHedge Awards for 2007 for the GLG Emerging Markets fund.

(Editing by Sharon Lindores)