Man Group punters pull out £700m

By ROBERT LEA
Updated:

 

MAN Group, the world's largest hedge fund manager, today admitted almost £700m of investors' money - much of it from its network of rich private punters - has been withdrawn from its funds over the past three months.

With the hedge fund industry increasingly hit by investor redemptions and falling performance, FTSE 100 company Man attempted to remain upbeat, reporting at today's annual meeting that funds under management had risen to $43.5bn (£24.8bn), an increase of $500m0 since the company's 31 March year-end.

But the figures reveal that growth only came after new funds attracted new money. In the three months to the end of June, $1.2bn had been withdrawn, $700m of that being taken out by private investors.

The rich investors who have fuelled the bull market in hedge fund investment have been spooked by a series of high-profile reverses and recent poor performances from the flagship funds of two of Europe's biggest hedge funds, GLG and Vega.

The collapse of a major fund had been rumoured throughout the spring. Hotshot hedge fund manager Bailey Coates said last month that it was closing its flagship Cromwell fund.

Man today said its investment performance 'has continued to be positive' with its AHL fund up 5%.

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