International manager search activity has soared at the expense of activity in North America, according to Mercer Investment Consulting. The consultant’s latest global investment manager search survey indicates that in Europe (ex the U.K.) there were 152 searches, up from 78 in 2004. In contrast, U.S. activity sank from 441 in 2004 to 164 in 2005. Mercer’s John Frede said in a statement, “This downturn is the delayed impact of the mutual fund late-trading and market-timing scandals of 2003, which prompted an unusual level of search activity in 2004.”

Consistent with these findings, Mercer says international equity has emerged as the most popular single product category among clients, with 164 searches accounting for 21% of total assets. The U.S. ran a distant second with 75 searches and 9.8% of the total. Mercer labeled “striking” increases in private equity, which in the latest study accounted for 7.4% of all asset classes.