Hedge fund manager Man Group (LON:EMG) saw a slight dip in assets under management at the end of the last quarter, but withstood tougher global markets better than most with net inflows.
Funds under management over the quarter were in line with forecasts at US$78.6bn (£55.58 billion), compared with US$78.7bn at the end of December. Net inflows of new money at US$500mln were offset by US$700mln in market losses, but ahead of analyst expectations.
Concerns surrounding global growth hit many markets at the start of the year and asset managers have faced a harsh quarter. The world’s largest asset manager BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) reported a 20% fall in profits.
Net inflows into its AHL funds stood at US$1.3bn over the period, said the group.
"Investment performance across our quantitative strategies and net inflows meant that group funds under management remained stable over a highly volatile quarter," said chief executive Manny Roman.
Roman conceded that the on-going uncertainty in the markets remained challenging.
“The risk appetite of our client has the potential to impact flows.”
Analysts also remained cautious.
“A bull would highlight that funds under management flat on the year end at $78.6bn was a good result given the market volatility.
“A bear would suggest that net inflows of just US$0.5bn were dull and coupled with a cautious outlook statement then the risk to forecasts is probably to the downside,” said Liberum.
The broker has a target price of 165p.
Shares were up 5% nonetheless to 161.4p