Man Group

Man Group plc
Public
Traded as LSE: EMG
Industry Financial services
Founded 1783
Founder James Man
Headquarters Riverbank House
2 Swan Lane
London
United Kingdom
Area served
 Worldwide
Key people
Products Investment products
Revenue US$1,135 million (2015)[1]
US$184 million (2015)[1]
US$171 billion (2015)[1]
Number of employees
 1,078 (March 2015)
Divisions
Website Man.com

Man Group plc (Man Group) is an alternative investment management business initially founded as a sugar cooperage and brokerage by James Man in 1783. It provides a range of funds for institutional and private investors globally and is the world's largest publicly traded hedge fund, reporting $78.1 billion in funds under management as of March 2015.[2][3] The firm is headquartered at Riverbank House in London and employs over 1,000 people in various locations worldwide.[4] The company is a noted sponsor of the arts and charitable initiatives, including the Man Booker Prize and the Man Charitable Trust.

Under CEO Emmanuel "Manny" Roman the firm has made several acquisitions as part of its strategy to diversify the business, particularly in the United States, including Man Numeric, a quantitative equity manager. In recent years the firm has seen a shift towards institutional clients.

History

The company was founded by James Man in 1783 as a sugar cooperage and brokerage, based in Harp Lane in Billingsgate. The following year Man Group won the contract to supply the Royal Navy with the rum for its daily "rum tot", a tradition under which all sailors were allocated a daily rum ration. This tradition continued until 1970, with Man Group holding the contract throughout the entire period.[5] The company further expanded from sugar and rum into other commodities such as coffee and cocoa. The company traded as a commodities business throughout the 19th and 20th century, gradually diversifying into financial services following the advent of financial exchanges to hedge commodity exposures.[5]

The firm was renamed ED & F Man in 1869, based on the initials of James Man's grandsons Edward Desborough Man and Fredrick Man. ED & F Man listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1994. In 2000 the company divided into two entirely separate businesses, with Man Group plc focusing exclusively on financial services and ED & F Man, the commodities division, being taken private in a management buy-out.[6]

In 2007 following the demerger and flotation of its brokerage business (known as MF Global) on the New York Stock Exchange, Man Group moved into its present form as an investment management business.[7]

Man Group attained its current structure over time through acquisition. Man AHL is the oldest investment manager of the group, having been acquired over time from 1989 to 1994. Man Group’s other investment managers were acquired between 2010 and 2012. Man Group acquired Man GLG, previously GLG Partners, in 2010 for $1.6 billion,[8] then Man FRM in 2012[9] and Man Numeric in 2014.[10]

Structure and operations

Man Group head office at Swan Lane in London (building in the background)

Man Group offers hedge fund and long only products spanning equity, credit, managed futures, convertibles, emerging markets and multi-manager solutions.

The firm has key operational centres in Australia, China, Guernsey, Hong Kong, Japan, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, UK, USA and Uruguay. The firm operates through four investment managers: Man AHL; Man FRM; Man GLG and Man Numeric.

Man AHL

Founded in 1987, Man AHL is a diversified quantitative investment manager offering absolute return and long-only funds, with both momentum and non-momentum strategies. In recent years, the manager’s sales have shifted from retail to institutional investors. Man AHL has over 100 investment professionals.[11]

Man FRM

Established in 1991, and acquired by Man Group in 2012, Man FRM's 58 research and investment professionals operate from London, New York, Tokyo, Guernsey and Pfäffikon.[12]

Man GLG

Man GLG was established in London in 1995 as GLG Partners. It was publicly listed in 2007 before being acquired by Man Group in 2010 for $1.6 billion. Man GLG is a multi-team discretionary investment manager. Man GLG utilises absolute return and long-only strategies across asset classes, sectors and geographies. The January 2015 acquisition of Silvermine was expected boost the division’s US CLO business.[13]

Man Numeric

Man Numeric was established in 1989 and acquired by Man Group in 2014. A Boston-based quantitative asset manager with $16.7 billion FUM as at December 2014, Man Numeric offers long-only, active extension and hedged equity strategies. Man Group acquired Man Numeric to build a diversified quantitative fund management business in non-momentum strategies, and to develop Man Group’s presence in the North American market. In 2014, Man Numeric’s average client portfolio out-performed industry benchmarks by 3% before fees.[14]

Strategy

Manny Roman was appointed as Man Group’s CEO in 2013. His stated strategic objectives for Man Group include: delivering superior risk-adjusted returns for clients,[15] diversifying the firm through acquisition, extending US operations, growing Man Group’s quantitative investment business, hiring and retaining talent and capitalising on the convergence between business in the developed and developing world.[16]

Since taking up the role of CEO, Roman has overseen significant cost-cutting at Man Group, led by CFO Jonathan Sorrell, with a $270 million cost-saving programme planned for delivery in 2015 achieved ahead of schedule.[17][18]

Mergers and acquisitions

RMF and Bernard Madoff

RMF, a former division of Man Group, invested 0.5% of its funds under management at the time with various 3rd party funds which, in turn, had positions in funds ultimately managed by Bernard Madoff. RMF was one of 107 financial institutions and 13,000 individuals to invest in such funds. As of 2014, 59% of all such funds have been recovered and returned to various institutions and individuals.[35]

Man Booker Prize

Man Group has sponsored The Man Booker literary prize since 2002.[36]

Described by The Telegraph newspaper as “...arguably the UK’s most prestigious" literary prize, the £50,000 award was created in 1973 to increase the reading of quality fiction and attract “the intelligent general audience”.[37][38] Each year the winner is announced at an awards dinner broadcast live by BBC Television. Inclusion into the award's shortlist and attendant press coverage is known to provide a significant boost to book sales and bookstore visits, with sales trebling in some cases.[39]

The 2014 award went to author Richard Flanagan for The Narrow Road to the Deep North, with his prize presented by Chair of judges AC Grayling at London’s Guildhall. It was the first year in which eligibility for the award was expanded to include any novel written in English and published in the UK.[40]

Man also sponsors the Man Booker International Prize. This £60,000 prize is awarded every two years to a living author with fiction published in English or translated into English. The award is intended to highlight “...one writer's overall contribution to fiction on the world stage”, with the judges considering a writer's entire body of work. The 2015 prize was awarded to Hungarian writer László Krasznahorkai. Previous winners include Philip Roth and Lydia Davis.[38]

Corporate responsibility

Man Group is a member of the FTSE4Good Index and the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index. It also supports various charitable initiatives, principally through the Man Charitable Trust.

Man Charitable Trust

Set up in 1978, The Man Charitable Trust is an independent registered charity that funds small to medium-size charities focusing on literacy and numeracy programmes, as well as programmes in support of access to education for disadvantaged people. In 2014 the trust awarded £427,075 to UK charities, including £50,000 to Beanstalk, a charity that recruits and trains volunteers to provide reading support in primary schools, and £50,000 to National Numeracy, a charity dedicated to raising low levels of numeracy among adults and children.[41][42]

Oxford-Man Institute of Quantitative Finance

In June 2007 Man launched a joint project with the University of Oxford, the Oxford-Man Institute of Quantitative Finance. Man Group’s initial financial commitment to the Institute was £13.75 million, one of the largest single donations to a British higher education institution in recent years.[43] The Institute brings together faculty, post-docs and students throughout the University interested in quantitative analysis of finance problems. The institute aims to develop research in quantitative finance, develop academics able to contribute to the understanding of quantitative finance and to promote and encourage independent teaching and research. Man AHL has researchers embedded within the Institute; research topics include socially responsible finance and the stability of market systems.[44]

Former sponsorships and charitable initiatives

Man Group is a former sponsor of the Man Group International Climate Change Award and the Man Asian Literary Prize.[45][46] In the 1990s, Man was a founding member of the East London Partnership, which became the East London Business Alliance, a business-community outreach charity promoting corporate social responsibility and employee volunteering.[47]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Annual Report 2015" (PDF). Man Group. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
  2. ↑ "Company snapshot". Alacrastore.com. Retrieved 18 April 2011.
  3. ↑ "Man Group". London Stock Exchange. 7 October 1994. Retrieved 18 April 2011.
  4. ↑ Global 50 Funds of Hedge Funds, The Hedgefund Journal, June 2009.
  5. 1 2 "Man Group: Timeline" (PDF). Retrieved 18 April 2011.
  6. ↑ "Corigins". strauscom.com. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
  7. ↑ Man Group's MF Global unit files for IPO Reuters, 1 June 2007
  8. 1 2 Man agrees takeover of GLG FT, 17 May 2010
  9. 1 2 Man Group to acquire rival FRM FT, 21 May 2012
  10. 1 2 Man Group's flagship funds stage continued recovery Financial Times, 8 September 2014
  11. ↑ "Man Group strengthens AHL fund range with quadruple launch". Reuters. 21 April 2015. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
  12. ↑ "Man Group to Buy FRM Holdings for Up to $83 Million". NYTimes.com. New York Times.
  13. ↑ Miles Johnson (17 December 2014). "Man Group buys Silvermine for $23.5m". Ft.com. FT.com. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
  14. ↑ "Man acquires Numeric in latest deal". COO Connect. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
  15. ↑ "Man Group's assets jump to $72bn on acquisitions". FT.com. Pearson. Retrieved 19 July 2015. Looking forward, whilst there is a solid sales pipeline in place, and we are seeing increased appetite in long only strategies and for managed accounts, our outlook for flows is mixed and will depend on performance. We continue to focus on delivering superior risk-adjusted returns for clients across the business.
  16. ↑ Foster, Mike. "Roman fired up for growth at Man Group". Financial News. Dow Jones. Retrieved 19 July 2015.
  17. ↑ "Man Group steps up search for deal to diversify business". 19 February 2014. Retrieved 5 July 2014.
  18. ↑ "Manny's Roman empire taking shape".
  19. ↑ Man Is Feeling The Pull Of Gravity Business Week, 1 November 2004
  20. ↑ ED&F Man Group PLC acquires Glenwood Capital Investements Thomson, 10 November 2000
  21. ↑ Man Group buys Australian hedge fund group Financial News
  22. ↑ Man Group PLC acquires RMF Investment Group Thomson, 31 May 2002
  23. ↑ Man Group PLC acquires a minority stake in BlueCrest Capital Management Thomson, 31 December 2003
  24. ↑ Jones, Sam (23 March 2011). "Man Group sells BlueCrest stake". FT.com. Pearson. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
  25. ↑ Man Group sets sail with Pemba into credit Hedge Funds Review, April 2007
  26. ↑ Man Group PLC acquires Ore Hill Partners LLC (pending) Thomson, 31 March 2008
  27. ↑ Man ECO announces $635 million raised for China Methane Recovery Fund CPI Financial, 10 April 2008
  28. ↑ Man Group PLC acquires a minority stake in Nephila Capital Ltd Thomson, 6 June 2008
  29. ↑ Acquisition of FRM Holdings Limited by Man Group maninvestments.com.au, 17 July 2012
  30. ↑ "Man Group closes Pine Grove Asset Management acquisition". Hedgeweek.com. Hedgeweek. Retrieved 20 July 2015.
  31. ↑ Man Group Buys Merrill Lynch's $1.2 Billion Funds of Hedge Funds Bloomberg, 8 December 2014
  32. 1 2 3 "Man Group trading statement - March 2015". Man.com. Man Group. Retrieved 20 July 2015.
  33. ↑ Man Group to Acquire Silvermine Capital Management Bloomberg, 19 December 2014
  34. ↑ Man Group to buy asset manager NewSmith Financial Times, 20 February 2015
  35. ↑ Larson, Erik (8 January 2014). "Madoff Trustee Tops $10 Billion Recovery With Bank Deal". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
  36. ↑ "The Man Booker Prize". The Man Booker Prize. Retrieved 18 April 2011.
  37. ↑ Stock, Jon; Rigden, Kealey (15 October 2013). "Top 25 Literary Prizes". Telegraph.co.uk (London). Retrieved 17 June 2015.
  38. 1 2 "The Prizes". Man Booker. Retrieved 17 June 2015.
  39. ↑ "Bookser sales boost down". TheBookseller.com. The Bookseller. Retrieved 17 June 2015.
  40. ↑ "Richard Flanagan wins Man Booker prize with ‘timeless depiction of war’". TheGuardian.com. Guardian Media Trust. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
  41. ↑ "Our Supporters". Beanstalk. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
  42. ↑ "Count Me In: Improving numeracy in England - A guide for charities and funders" (PDF). NationalNumeracy.org. National Numeracy. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
  43. ↑ Oxford-Man Institute of Quantitative Finance officially opened University of Oxford, 19 September 2007
  44. ↑ "Areas of research". Oxford-man.ox.ac.uk. Oxford Man Institute. Retrieved 17 June 2015.
  45. ↑ MALP News. "Man Asian Literary Prize". Man Asian Literary Prize. Retrieved 18 April 2011.
  46. ↑ Allen, Katie (18 October 2012). "Asian Literary Prize seeks new sponsor". The Bookseller. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
  47. ↑ Ball, Stephen J; Junemann, Carolina (2012). Networks, New Governance and Education. p. 89: 'And Man was a founding member of what was called East London Partnership, which became East London Business Alliance, a business-community outreach charity promoting corporate social responsibility (CSR) and employee volunteering. Retrieved 1 September 2014.

Further reading

External links

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