Man Group assets take a hit
THE world’s largest listed hedge fund manager Man Group has said assets have slipped back with a poor performance from its flagship AHL strategy.
In the autumn Man’s assets began to recover from the effects of the credit crisis but the latest figures are a blow to the recovery.
The company said that AHL saw poor performance wipe $1.2bn (£753m) off assets in the three months to December, while a new wave of investors pulled out of funds.
Overall assets under management at the end of Man’s third quarter to end-December fell 4 per cent to $42.4bn
Institutional investors, who pulled out a net $1.3bn in the previous quarter, withdrew another net $1bn as some took their money out of strategies such as distressed and convertibles that performed strongly in the 2009 rally.
“We continue to be bearish about Man Group,” analysts at Credit Suisse said in a note, adding that the outflows were “extremely disappointing”.
“We continue to believe that the market underestimates the impact of weak investment performance at AHL on future sales.”
Man Group’s assets stood at $74.6bn in March 2008, before the credit crisis took its toll.