Man Group reports record assets under management of $253.6 billion

By Nell Mackenzie

LONDON, July 28 (Reuters) - Hedge fund Man Group on Tuesday posted an 11% quarterly rise in its assets under management to a record $253.6 billion as of June 30, beating analyst expectations, amid volatile markets whipped by the on-again-off-again Iran war. 

The London-listed company, which makes money from management fees, posted a six-month core net management fee profit of $186 million before taxes and after costs, up around 40% from $130 million in June 2025. 

New client money soared in the first half of the year, with inflows of $7.1 billion -- beating Jefferies analyst expectations of $1.3 billion of net inflows. 

Investor interest in the funds at Man Group that solely bet on rising assets amid volatile equity and credit markets came down to picking quality investments that would perform well despite broader market behaviour, Antoine Forterre, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer at Man Group told Reuters.

"In an environment where people might be worried about volatility they still need to be invested because that is their mandate so they look for partners who can provide high-quality returns," said Forterre.

The hedge fund's long-only strategies including its long-only credit funds saw the bulk of this new client money. A long position takes a bet on asset rising in value.

The strong first half were the fruits of change at Man, CEO Robyn Grew said in a statement, adding that the inflows and record AUM was the "direct result of deliberate, multi-year investments in the diversification of our business."

Global hedge funds have delivered their strongest first-half performance since 2013, data from hedge fund data firm PivotalPath showed, as healthcare, tech and energy trades lifted returns in volatile markets.

In particular, April - when hedge funds returned 3.7% in one month - proved to be the strongest April on record, according to PivotalPath.

(Reporting by Nell Mackenzie; editing by Dhara Ranasinghe)