IndexUniverse.com has confirmed that Deborah Fuhr, arguably the biggest name globally in ETF research, is no longer employed with Morgan Stanley.

Calls to Fuhr's number at Morgan Stanley rung without answer last week, raising questions throughut the industry about her status. Morgan Stanley's Human Resources department confirmed today that Fuhr is no longer employed by the firm.

The move may be part of a broader effort to cut staff at the investment banking giant. The UK press reported last week that at least 350 jobs could be lost at the bank's UK office as part of a worldwide reduction of staff numbers; Fuhr operated out of the UK office.

Still, the departure of Fuhr comes as a surprise to ETF market observers. Fuhr had built a reputation as one of the world expert on ETFs, with 10 years of experience covering the space, and Morgan Stanley's ETF market research consistently ranked first in investor surveys. Given the continued growth of the ETF market worldwide, cutting back on ETF research seems like an odd place for the firm to save money.

Deborah Fuhr had been at Morgan Stanley for over 10 years. She headed the Investment Strategies group in London, working with institutional investors on implementing "delta 1" products - ETFs, swaps, certificates, futures, index funds and other derivatives. She was made a Managing Director of the firm in 2006.

There is no word yet onwhere Fuhr is heading next.