Man Group raises dividend as funds under management hit $123.6b
Hedge fund manager Man Group has this morning raised its dividend by 8 per cent as funds under management marked a record high for the firm.
Funds hit $123.6b under management from $117.7b the year before, as assets climbed by 8 per cent, reaching $77.2b.
The firm has also raised its total dividend to 10.6c per share from 9.8c.
Man Group CEO Luke Ellis said: “We have increased our management fee profits and our dividend to shareholders, and grown client assets to end the year at a new record high for funds under management.
“Our ability to deal calmly with the stresses of the year and to grow our business is a testament to the strength and resilience of our people and the quality of our technology platform.”
However, a fall in fee income pushed pre-tax profits to fall by $100m, to $284m from $384m in 2019.
The early stages of the pandemic saw long-only strategies plummet but then recover during the market rally in the final quarter of 2020, which eventually brought home $46.4b.
Despite this, the firm ended the year on a high and had repurchased $36m of shares at the end of last year, after announcing in September its intention to repurchase an additional $100m of shares.
“Confidence in our strategy also drives our move to a new progressive dividend policy,” Ellis added.