Money manager Man's shares hit by assets fall

One of the world’s biggest money managers slumped in value today after it revealed investors dumped huge amounts of funds amid recent market volatility.

Man Group, a hedge fund specialist, said total funds under management fell to $65bn at the end of September, 8% lower than three months earlier. Its shares dived 20% in the FTSE 100 Index, wiping around €1bn from its value.

Chief executive Peter Clarke said: “As anticipated, investor sentiment continued to weaken across the summer with lower sales in our second quarter and some increase in redemption rates, notably in September.”

Global shares, currency and commodity markets swung wildly in August and September as concerns grew over the eurozone crisis and world economic recovery.

Man’s investors pulled out $7.1bn from its funds in the second quarter of its financial year to September. New sales also halved to $4.5bn in the period, making a net outflow of $2.6bn.

Man added half-year profits would now come in at $145m, well short of market expectations and below a year ago.