The Man Group said today that its assets under management dropped sharply in its fiscal third quarter as the firm struggled, like many others, with poor performance and huge investor redemptions.

The London-based firm said it managed US$53.3 billion on Dec. 31, a 21.2% drop from the US$67.6 billion it managed at the end of its fiscal second quarter quarter. The hedge fund group blamed market volatility, low levels of liquidity, limited leverage and year-end redemptions for the losses.

More than half of the decline, US$9.7 billion, was blamed on the firm’s effort to cut exposure across its MGS product range. Year-end net redemptions totaled $3.2 billion.

On the bright side, Man’s flagship AHL strategy soared during the quarter, rising 22%.

"The outlook for institutional sales remains very subdued in the short term and continued institutional redemptions mean that we will see institutional net outflows until markets stabilise and confidence returns," said Chief Executive Peter Clarke.