Profits at London-based Man Group, the world’s largest listed hedge fund firm, more than halved last year, as AUM hit a record $167.5bn, an increase of 17% from the $143.3bn reported for 2022.
According to a statement released on Thursday, pre-tax profit fell to $340m in 2023 from $779m the previous year on the back of a slump in performance fees, which fell 77% year-on-year to $180m. Net revenue meanwhile, fell by 29% from $1.7bn in 2022, to $1.2bn last year.
Performance gains of $9.7bn over the year helped assets reach their record level, although the company saw its first quarter of net negative flows in the final three months of the year since Q3 2022, with net outflows totalling $300m.
According to the statement, Q4 outflows were driven by multi-manager and systematic long-only funds.
Robyn Grew, CEO of Man Group, said: “2023 was a year that defied market expectations as the world grappled with macroeconomic uncertainty and unforeseen geopolitical events,” said Robyn Grew, who took over as Chief Executive from Luke Ellis last September. “Against that backdrop, I’m pleased to report a solid set of results for Man Group.”
Grew highlighted net client capital inflows of $3bn, which she said were “4.9% ahead of industry”, although a company-compiled poll of analysts expected expected net inflows of $4.1bn in 2023.
