GLOBAL - Man Investments, the UK-based hedge fund manager, has predicted its assets under management fell by 36% in the year to the end of March 2009, through a mixture of institutional outflows and losses on investments and currency fluctuations.

Details of the firm’s trading update for the year ending 31 March 2009 revealed the firm saw its assets under management drop from $74.6bn (€54.8bn) at the end of March 2008 to $53.3bn by the end of the calendar year, and is predicted to have fallen again by to $47.7bn by the end of this month - though there are still over five days left to run.

In total, the investment house now has holds $19.3bn in institutional money as it expects to see net outflows of $4.2bn over the 12 months - redemptions of $7.9bn against sales of $3.7bn - and has warned “many institutions have portfolio rebalancing and capital requirements which will likely result in redemptions in the near-term remaining at similar levels to the last quarter”.

Interestingly, the AHL Alpha managed futures fund, in which the £1bn (€1.07bn) United Biscuits pension fund is understood to be invested - according to Pension Funds Online - gained 14.4% in the financial year and rose 33.2% in the calendar year to 31 December 2008.

The AHL Alpha fund was named after the three individuals who first developed its trading program, prior to merging with Man Group.

Elsewhere, however, its RMF institutional diversified fund-of-funds is anticipated to have fallen 13.1% by the end of March 2009 and by 16.2% by the end of 2008.

A major drop in performance came in particular on the company’s MGS product range and its rebalancing of associated portfolios, according to Man, while investment performance lowered AuM by $6.1bn and currency movements lost a further $6.5bn.

Other institutional investors in the Man Investments funds are understood to be the £2.1bn Bath and North East Somerset County Council pension fund, the £900m Shropshire CC fund, the €2.9bn Öpag Pensionskassen, the €360m BAV Pensionskassen and the €350m Agrarische en Voedselvoorieningshandel BpF, according to Pension Funds Online.

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