Man Group assets increase at last

30th Sep 2009 07:06

Fund manager Man Group toasted its first increase in assets under management for over a year and said investor sentiment is continuing to improve.Profit before tax for the six months to the end of September is estimated at $280m, against $622m a year ago. Before exceptionals, profit will drop to $270m from $729m.But funds under management are estimated to post a bigger than expected rise of $0.5bn to $43.8bn from $43.3bn at the end of June. "Investor sentiment is continuing to improve across the industry, the performance outlook is healthy and the prospects for sustained industry inflows are very promising," said chief executive Peter Clarke.'With significant momentum across the business, new products and new market opportunities, Man is strongly positioned for growth." Man said net management fees tumbled to $240m from $569m in 2008, while performance fees were down 81% to $30m.Private investor sales are estimated to be $5bn for the six months, with sales of an estimated $1.6bn in the second quarter driven from a wide range of regional sources as opposed to a large global launch.The weakening US dollar drove a positive FX movement of an estimated $2.1bn for the six months.Institutional sales remained muted through the second quarter, but redemptions declined markedly and are expected to total $1.7bn for the second quarter compared to $3.6bn in the first quarter.