Man Group’s results for the financial year ended 31 December 2016 show funds under management went up 3 per cent over the year to USD80.9 billion, from USD78.7 billion at 31 December 2015.
Net inflows increased over the year from USD0.3 billion at end 2015 to USD1.9 billion and quant alternative assets increased by 20 per cent due to strong net inflows.
The group reports a positive investment movement of USD3.2 billion (2015: USD2.4 billion) against FX translation effects and other movements of -USD2.9 billion (2015: -USD3.0 billion).
The figures reveal a statutory loss before tax for the year ended 31 December 2016 of USD272 million (2015: profit before tax of USD184 million), driven by the impairment of GLG and FRM goodwill and intangibles of USD281 million and USD98 million respectively.
Adjusted profit before tax (PBT) stands at USD205 million in 2016 (2015: USD400 million), comprising adjusted net management fee PBT of USD178 million (2015: USD194 million) and adjusted net performance fee PBT of USD27 million (2015: USD206 million).
The recommended final dividend is set at 4.5 cents per share bringing total dividend for the year to 9.0 cents (2015: 10.2 cents). The final dividend is equal to 3.62 pence per share (2015: 3.40 pence), and the total dividend for the year is equal to 7.05 pence per share (2015: 6.87 pence).
Surplus regulatory capital stands at USD392 million at 31 December 2016 (2015: USD453 million); USD325 million after the impact of the Aalto acquisition which completed on 1 January 2017.
Luke Ellis (pictured), chief executive officer of Man Group, says: “2016 was a challenging year for the investment management industry and, despite respectable relative performance from our strategies, this is reflected in our results.
“Against this backdrop, we have made real progress in positioning the firm for the future. We delivered positive net flows in a year when our industry saw outflows. We had positive alpha across our long only strategies during a year in which many questioned the benefits of active management. We put in place a revised management structure and continued to control our cost base, and the majority of our performance fee eligible funds ended the year at, or close to, high water mark.
“Looking forward to 2017, we have started the year with a good pipeline of interest from clients and encouraging performance across most of our strategies as the new global political environment has created many alpha opportunities, but it remains early days in an uncertain market.
“Our focus for 2017 is to build on the hard work of last year and on what makes this business special: the commitment and creativity that drives performance, building deep and meaningful client relationships, investing in our talent and technology, and being disciplined on costs and capital allocation. Although our industry faces some challenges, I believe we are well positioned for the years ahead.”
