Man's fees hit by funds' poor show

HEDGE fund manager Man Group has suffered a massive fall in performance fees after a sluggish performance hit the value of its funds under management.

Man's fees fell by around a half to $55m (£30.3m) in the six months to September, with client funds creeping up just $500m to $39bn.

This is a sharp deceleration on last year, when Man's funds jumped by 48% in the 12 months. It comes as a large part of the net $4.9bn raised from clients in the period was offset by falls in the funds' underlying value.

Nonetheless, chairman Harvey McGrath was putting a brave face on the figures today, highlighting the $2.1bn withdrawn by clients.

'Redemptions are at the lower end of our expectations,' he said. 'I think what this first half demonstrates is that, while we and the industry have suffered a lacklustre performance, we have still been able to raise significant amounts.'

McGrath also suggested there were signs of improvement at Man's $9bn AHL fund. Off by 5.4% in the year to date, the performance has ticked up by 2.74% in the week to the close of trading on Monday.