31st Jul 2019 10:20
(Alliance News) - Fund manager Man Group PLC on Wednesday reported a rise in funds under management in the first half, driven by a strong performance by the company's quant funds.
At June 30, Man Group's funds under management stood at USD114.4 billion, 5.4% higher than the USD108.5 billion seen at December 31.
The fund manager saw net outflows of USD1.1 billion in the first half but was was more than offset by the company's investment performance, adding USD6.8 billion to funds.
"Absolute performance was strong in the first half of 2019, particularly in our quant alternative strategies, which drove a USD5.9 billion increase in FuM and growth in profits," said Chief Executive Luke Ellis.
He continued: "Relative performance and flows were more mixed with outperformance and inflows into our quant alternative strategies and underperformance and outflows from our valuation biased strategies, with clients continuing to reduce their equity exposure coming into the third quarter."
The fund manager noted its asset weighted performance was 1.1% behind its peers in the period.
Man Group declared an interim dividend of 4.7 US cents per share, 27% lower than the 6.4 cents per share distributed the year before. Man Group pays out 100% of adjusted management fee earnings per share as a dividend, which was down in the half on sliding management fees.
The fund manager's pretax profit increased 22% in the first half to USD110 million from USD90 million the year before.
Man Group's net revenue increased 7.8% to USD524 million from USD486 million. Net management fee revenue declined 4.7% but this was offset by a 67% rise in performance fees.
Ellis added: "We enter the second half of 2019 with good performance fee earning potential with 90% of Man AHL strategies at high water mark and the diversified nature of our business means that we remain well positioned to navigate the current economic environment. We continue to focus on delivering superior risk adjusted performance for our clients and, in doing so, creating long-term value for our shareholders."
Shares in Man Group were 3.3% higher in London on Wednesday at 172.40 pence each.
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