Hedge Fund Doubles Cost Cuts

Man Group surged as much as 12% in early London trading Tuesday, after the world’s biggest publicly traded hedge fund manager said it would double its planned cost cuts and reduce reliance on products with steeper commissions.

Bloomberg reports that Man Group plans to reduce expenses by $100m over the next 18 months, adding to $95m of cost cuts announced in March, the London-based company said in a statement today. The company also plans to sell fewer so-called guaranteed products, which produce high commissions for employees and have drawn subdued demand from customers.

'We have made progress in the last six months to address the costs across our business', Chief Executive Officer Peter Clarke said in the statement. 'The changes we have announced today, together with progress we have already made, position us well to protect and rebuild shareholder value'.

Man Group is making changes after clients pulled a net $2.4bn from its investment funds in the first half of 2012, according to Tuesday’s statement. AHL, the company’s largest hedge fund, has been hurt by Europe’s debt crisis as rivals that also rely on computer algorithms have had better responses to political decisions that spurred rapid changes in currency and commodity prices.

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Man Group Rises After Doubling Cost Cuts in Wake of Outflows