Man Investments last week posted its first half numbers for the year and, for the most part, it’s looking pretty good. But pretty good, in the current environment, is relative.

The firm said its operating sales figures reached US$10.2 billion in the first half, 28% higher than the same period last year, with 70% of sales to private investors and 30% to institutional investors. The US$61 billion alternatives shop reported net inflows of US$4.2 billion, up 17% compared to the first half last year and said its net management fee income is up 2% to US$549 million but its net performance fee income is down 44% to $159 million

Man also said its funds under management are down 9% since the end of March “due to markets affecting performance negatively (US$5.9 billion) and the impact of a stronger dollar on the translation of those funds under management denominated in other currencies (US$2.7 billion).” Also, it said its first-half redemptions of US$6 billion were “significantly lower levels than the industry average.”

“The period under review witnessed unprecedented levels of turmoil in financial markets, with turbulence moving globally through credit, equity, commodity and more recently currency markets," Peter Clarke, Man CEO, said. "Against this challenging backdrop of extreme volatility, Man has delivered robust results overall, as a result of its broad geography of asset raising, wide product range and capital strength.”