Hedge fund Man Group’s assets surge but profits tumble

Man Group (EMG) grew assets under management (AuM) by 35 per cent to a new peak of $228bn (£169bn) last year on record net inflows, but the hedge fund’s pre-tax profit tumbled by 31 per cent after market conditions hurt its performance fee revenue in the first half.  

Net inflows of $28.7bn were driven by Man Group’s long-only strategies as investors took $5.8bn out of its alternative funds in the year. Inflows of $1.4bn in the fourth quarter were driven by discretionary long-only investors. The acquisition in October of Bardin Hill added $2.7bn of AuM and added to the group’s US private credit exposure.

More than 60 per cent of the group’s positive investment performance of $21.4bn came from systematic long-only funds in the year. Core net management fees slipped 2 per cent to $1.1bn, while core performance fees fell 9 per cent to $281mn.

Chief executive Robyn Grew said Man Group had started 2026 with “strong momentum and much-improved performance fee optionality”.

The group’s core AHL funds are up 6-7 per cent in the year to date. This performance has led to broker upgrades. Panmure Liberum analyst Rae Maile raised his 2026 underlying pre-tax profit forecast by almost $150mn to $608mn.

Performance momentum in early 2026 “is yet to be reflected in the current rating, we believe, with performance fee profits – estimated to be in excess of $250mn for the current year – available for free”, he argued.

David McCann at Deutsche Bank argued that the shares are “inexpensive” given the outlook for management and performance fee profits, along with future dividends.

Man Group trades on 10 times forward consensus earnings for 2026. That rating – below the group’s five-year average – is undemanding. Diversification efforts away from trend-following funds are under-appreciated. Buy.

Last IC view: Buy, 176p, 30 Jul 2025