ii view: Man Group has bag of surprises for City

Third-quarter trading update to 30 September

• Assets under management of $270.9 billion (£203 billion), up from $253.6 billion on 30 June

ii round-up:

Fund manager Man Group (LSE:EMG)p today detailed assets under management (AUM) that beat City forecasts, driven by strong investor demand and better-than-expected investment performance.

AUM climbed 6.8% from the prior quarter and 26.6% from a year ago to $270.9 billion (£203 billion). Analysts had forecast $263 billion. Net fund inflows of $10.1 billion sat alongside an investment gain of $5.9 billion, with the City predicting $3.8 billion and $3.5 billion respectively.

Shares in the FTSE 250 company rose 1.5% in UK trading having come into this latest news up by close to a half so far in 2026. Both the FTSE 250 index and shares in dividend stock M&G  Ordinary Shares (LSE:MNG) have risen by close to a tenth in that time.

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Man Group’s managed funds are split relatively evenly between alternative investment strategies, some with the ability to go short, and more traditional long-only or buy and hold funds.

Inflows for the group’s long-only systematic or rules based, data driven, equity fund led during the quarter, adding $5.8 billion. Analysts had expected flows of just $0.6 billion.

Higher profit margin alternative funds saw net inflows of $1.9 billion over the period against City forecasts of just $0.5 billion. Flows of $2.4 billion into long-only credit funds also exceeded hopes of $1.4 billion.

Broker UBS reiterated its ‘buy’ stance on the shares post the news, with target price of 370p per share.

ii view:

Started by James Man in 1783 as a sugar trading business, the company today employs around 1,700 people across more than 20 offices globally. Headquartered at Riverbank House in London, the group continues to believe that technology will play a key role in the future of active management.

Geographically, the Cayman Islands accounted for most revenues during its last financial year at 39%. That was followed by the USA at 21%, Ireland 19%, the UK and the Channel Islands 8.5% and other countries the balance of 12.5%.

For investors, the rise of AI is likely to see more rivals adopt computers to help manage money. Competition across the asset management industry remains intense. A $6.1 billion redemption from a single institutional client previously hindered performance and underlined the potential impact of single clients. Costs for businesses, and particularly wages, also remain elevated.

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To the upside, product variation and the use of computers to help manage active funds help set Man Group apart from rivals. Performance fees sit alongside more standard management fees, potentially boosting profits. A robust balance sheet includes net tangible assets of $758 million as of late June, while shareholder returns have included periodic share buybacks.

In all, and despite ongoing risks, business momentum and a forecast dividend yield of over 4% are likely to keep investors interested in this differentiated fund manager.

Positives:

• Diversity of investment strategies
• Attractive dividend yield (not guaranteed)

Negatives:

• Intense industry competition
• Foreign exchange movements can hinder

The average rating of stock market analysts:

Buy