Frank Minard is out as head of global marketing and client services at...

Frank Minard is out as head of global marketing and client services at Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, after slightly more than a year there. He will remain an advisory director, a role Mr. Minard said will be largely consultative and short term. Mr. Minard said he intends to start his own investment management marketing firm. He will focus on helping money managers use Internet technology. Some industry observers said they weren’t surprised by Mr. Minard’s termination, which one consultant viewed as a casualty of turf wars as the firm integrated Morgan Stanley/Miller, Anderson & Sherrerd, Dean Witter Intercapital and Van Kampen American Capital. Under Mr. Minard, the firm gained $37 billion in assets under management last year, more than in any other year, a source said. In an internal memo to employees, a MSDW official said "there are a number of developments that represent a significant change in our marketing strategy. . . The international private client group will now be responsible for marketing to the fast growing subadviser and wholesale distribution markets internationally. Also, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter Advisors and Van Kampen will play a more important role in distributing our investment products in the United States.’’ A spokesman couldn’t elaborate further. Some observers are betting that Ruth Hughes-Guden, principal and now head of defined contribution plan services at Morgan Stanley Dean Witter Investment Management, will be given Mr. Minard’s job.