Hope for European markets - Telegraph The slowdown in European economies should not put off investors from backing some of the continent's biggest companies, the chief executive of one of Europe's largest investment management groups has said. "Europe's growth is going to be sluggish but the correlation between equity market returns and economic growth of a region is actually very, very low," said Andrew Formica, chief executive of Henderson Group. You've seen that in China, which, despite having a slowdown, continues to have one of the best economic growth rates of any economies out there but its stock market has been very, very poor. Similarly in Europe, you've got to remember that a lot of European companies are not wedded to the European economy. These are companies that aren't just reliant on a recovery in Europe but have been punished for being headquartered or listed on a European stock exchange. Major holdings in Henderson European funds include Nestlé, Deutsche Post, and Danish shipping concern AP Moller-Maersk. "We've seen a revaluation and a strong improvement in markets," Mr Formica added. The group is now looking for an acquisition in the US, where it has had a retail funds presence since 2001. "We have a very strong presence in the US with retail fund assets of about $7.5bn (£4.5bn) and about $2.5bn (£1.5bn) of institutional business," he said. Henderson is looking to build out an equities presence, following a recent move into fixed income in the US. Mr Formica said it could be "a team lifted out from someone else" but the group is looking for something with between $5bn and $20bn of assets.