Man Group funds slump $14bn on coronavirus market chaos
Hedge fund manager Man Group said today that its funds under management fell 11.5 per cent to $104.2bn (£83.8bn) in the first quarter because of the slump in the markets caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Man Group said it lost $10.7bn on negative investment performance and $3.3bn on currency and other movements.
Man’s computer-driven long-only and discretionary strategies, which best on stocks going up were hit the most, losing $10bn in investment movement and another $1.1bn in outflows.
Three of Man’s computer-driven long-only strategies were down more than 20 per cent for the three months to 31 March.
Man’s worst-performing fund, the Man GLG Undervalued Assets fund, was down 34.5 per cent in absolute terms and down 9.3 per cent against its target benchmark over the quarter.
The hedge fund firm, which had $117.7bn in assets at December 31, took in $500 million in new investor money during the period.
Alternative strategies were helped by $1.6bn of inflows, with $400 million into Man AHL multi-strategy funds, while long-only saw $1.1bn in investor cash flee.
Man Group chief executive Luke Ellis said that the group’s balance sheet remained strong and it was planning to proceed with its announced dividend and share buyback plans.