Man Group plc

By: Andre F. Perold and Herve Duteil

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Synopsis: In 2004, Man Group was the world's largest packager and distributor of investment vehicles tied to hedge funds. The firm had an equity market capitalization of $10 billion and funds under management of $38 billion. Man's offerings spanned a wide range of risk/reward profiles packaged in the form of diversified funds of hedge funds, funds that focused on specific hedge fund styles, and funds that invested in a single hedge fund manager. The company also created structured products that consisted of funds of hedge funds combined with principal protection and leverage. An essential part of the strategy was to grow and maintain a global distribution network. Believers considered Man Group to be at the vanguard of a revolution in the investment management industry, while skeptics thought the hedge fund space had become overcrowded and that it would be hard for Man to scale its business and obtain good investment returns for clients.