Man Group’s performance remains solid

Man Group - the UK asset manager and derivatives brokerage – has released its pre-close trading results, with funds under management currently standing at $10.5 billion – a 57% increase on the previous year.

The group’s results surpassed many analysts’ expectations, and its share price rose by 5% to £11.35. Man’s share price peaked at £13.45 back in January, but had fallen 20% on the back of patchy performance by its AHL hedge fund. Short selling of Man’s shares also contributed to the fall in price.

Total sales from its alternative investments arm, Man Investment Products, were around $4.5 billion for the current financial year.

The AHL fund allocates across all asset classes – including stocks, bonds, commodities, interest rates and currencies. “Around 80% of the assets under management are financials. All assets are exchange-traded futures, except for currencies where forwards are traded over-the-counter,” said Matt Dillon, Hong Kong-based regional manager for Asia at Man Investment Products.

“We expect to see continued high levels of demand for our products as customers recognise the advantages of including structured alternative investment products in their portfolio,” added Stanley Fink, chief executive at Man Group.