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(Alliance News) - Hedge fund manager Man Group PLC on Wednesday reported a positive investment performance in the first half of the year, as its funds under management increased from the end of 2020.
London-based Man Group said it had funds under management of USD135.3 billion on June 30, up 9.5% from USD123.6 billion at the end of December and up 6.5% from USD127.0 billion on March 31.
Man reported positive investment performance of USD9.5 billion, swung year-on-year from a negative USD5.4 billion.
It posted net inflows of USD1.2 billion, from net outflows of USD1.2 billion a year ago.
Man said it outperformed peers by 1.3% on an asset weighted basis across its strategies. This was driven by the company's long-only strategies which outperformed by 2.5%, and alternatives which outperformed by 0.4%. Overall, this translates to USD1.4 billion of outperformance for its clients.
Pretax profit for the six months that ended June 30 was USD280 million, up dramatically from USD55 million a year before and exceeding the profit for all of 2020 of USD179 million. Core net revenue rose 83% to USD728 million from USD397 million.
The company declared an interim dividend of 5.6 cents per share, up 14% from 4.9 cents a year before.
"The first half was a period of excellent growth for Man Group as we reached record funds under management, continued a trend of positive net inflows, and grew management fee profit by 51% and total profit per share by 246%. This growth was predominantly driven by strong investment performance for our clients, resulting in both material performance fees from our quantitative strategies and a significant uplift in management fees," said Chief Executive Luke Ellis.
"We have good performance fee optionality from a range of strategies, a high level of client engagement, and a strong sales pipeline including some larger mandates. The firm remains in excellent shape, and our focus on and investment in talent and technology continue to cement our sustainable competitive advantage," Ellis added.
Shares in Man Group were up 1.6% to 194.55 pence each in London on Wednesday morning.
By Amrit Sahota; newsroom@alliancenews.com
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