Man Group thrives after funds launch

Hedge fund giant Man Group today beat its own profit forecasts and said that new fund launches since the year end had attracted more money than expected.

Man, which bought rival GLG for £1.1 billion last October, saw a particularly strong end to its year in March which pushed up its performance fees. This led to a 7% rise in headline profits at $599 million (£367.7 million).

Chief executive Peter Clarke said it had been a year of two halves with outflows of funds in the first replaced by inflows in the second after the GLG deal.

Much of this came from private investors who are gradually returning to the hedge fund market having fled during the global financial crisis.

Since the year end, a further $2 billion of funds has come in taking the total under management to $71 billion. This included a highly successful fund launch aimed at Japanese retail investors.