By Simon Jessop and Maiya Keidan
LONDON (Reuters) - Man Group (L:EMG), the world's biggest listed hedge fund, said on Friday it had retained most of the assets it invests during a challenging first quarter for fund managers, lifting its shares.
The hedge fund's results contrast with the performance of the world's biggest asset manager, BlackRock (N:BLK), which posted a 20 percent fall in profits on Thursday.
Man said it had lost only $100 million (£70.7 million) in the funds it manages over the quarter, a fraction of the total it runs on behalf of pension funds and other institutional investors.
Asset managers have faced a tough quarter after concerns around global growth hit many markets in January and February, before bouncing back in March.
Man said in a statement assets under management at the end of March were $78.6 billion, from $78.7 billion at the end of December, as a strong performance at its systematic trading arm AHL helped offset a weaker quarter for GLG, its actively traded equities business.
AHL offers a range of computerised hedge fund trading programmes, including those that use managed futures contracts.
Shares in Man were up 5.3 percent by 0915 GMT, the leading gainers in the FTSE mid-cap index (FTMC) and on course for their best one-day gain since the start of the year.
Chief Executive Manny Roman said in the trading statement that the group's efforts to diversify were bearing fruit, but that market uncertainty remained "challenging" and uncertain risk appetite among investors could hit flows.
The ability of the firm to retain assets during a tough period prompted positive analyst reaction, with Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) citing strong sales at AHL, particularly into the United States.
Man said inflows across its four flagship AHL programmes were $1.3 billion over the period, with an average performance across them of 5.3 percent, outperforming a 4.1 percent return for Societe Generale's CTA Index over the same period.
The dip in growth for Man overall was in line with forecasts, with net inflows of $500 million across its funds offset by $700 million in market losses.
Among the worst hit was Man GLG's Japan Core Alpha Equity fund, down 16.3 percent and contributing to a fall in assets of $1.5 billion across GLG.
Investment performance at Man's fund-of-fund unit FRM and Numeric - acquired recently as part of a strategy to broaden the firm's product offering and expand into the United States - were both broadly flat over the quarter, it added.