Assets managed by Man jump to $68bn

Man Group, the UK's largest quoted hedge fund manager, unveiled a 10 per cent rise in its assets under management during the first half of its financial year yesterday, claiming it had generated some $2.4bn (£1.2bn) of positive performance over the past six months in spite of the volatile equity markets.

Publishing its pre-close trading statement, before its interim results due in November, funds under management stand at $68bn, up from $61.7bn at the end of March. Sales over the period were $7.8bn – of which guaranteed products accounted for $3.2bn – while redemptions were $4.3bn. Some $41bn of the group's assets are held by private investors, while the remaining $27bn is held by institutions.

Peter Clarke, group chief executive, said the results demonstrated "the resilience of Man's business". "The diversification of our investment styles, despite recent turbulence in financial markets, has generated $2.4bn of positive performance for our investors in the first half," he said. "Today the majority of our assets are within 5 per cent of performance fee high water marks. First-half net management fee income will be up by more than 15 per cent, and net performance fee income will be ahead of the level achieved in the comparable period last year." He added that the market environment was likely to continue benefiting the firm.

Mr Clarke said Man remained committed to handing back $2.8bn to shareholders later this year after floating its derivatives clearing house, MF Global, in July. The group has already handed back $770m to shareholders, via dividends and share repurchases, since March.

Katrina Preston, an analyst for Landsbanki, said Man's assets under management were $1bn below her forecast, and she expected the performance of Man's funds to remain volatile.

Shares in Man rose 4 per cent in early trading yesterday, before closing up 2.2 per cent at 534.5p, giving the company a market value of £10.4bn.