Assets under management at Man Group, the world’s largest listed hedge fund, were broadly unchanged in the first quarter of 2026 after a significant withdrawal by a single investor offset inflows elsewhere, according to a report by Reuters.
The London-listed manager reported AUM of $228.7bn at the end of March, little changed from the previous quarter and below analyst expectations for an increase to around $233bn. The quarter was marked by heightened market turbulence linked to geopolitical tensions, including the conflict involving Iran.
A key drag on asset growth came from a $6.1bn redemption from one client in a long-only systematic equity strategy, disclosed in the firm’s first-quarter update.
Performance in Man Group’s long-only strategies was also under pressure. Its Man Continental European Growth fund posted a decline of roughly 10% over the period, reflecting broader weakness in equity markets.
Overall, the firm recorded net outflows of $1.6bn across its hedge fund platform during the quarter. However, gains in certain strategies and fresh client allocations helped cushion the impact of redemptions.
Credit strategies provided a relative bright spot, with long-only credit funds attracting net inflows of $2.2bn, despite delivering broadly flat returns. By contrast, the firm experienced outflows across alternative, long-only and liquid alternative strategies.
The mixed flows come against a backdrop of volatile trading conditions for hedge funds globally. Disruptions to energy markets following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz in early March have fuelled uncertainty over the economic outlook and raised concerns about a potential slowdown.
Performance across hedge fund strategies has diverged as a result. Data from Société Générale indicates that systematic hedge funds generated average gains of more than 7% in the year to the end of March, while broader industry returns tracked by PivotalPath were closer to 1% over the same period.
