Man Group is pushing ahead with plans to reorganise its operations under a Jersey holding company to put itself on a level pegging with other global fund groups and tap into growth opportunities in the US.
The proposal, which will be voted on next month, will see the group create a new ultimate holding company based in Jersey which will house its UK business Man Group plc alongside its other subsidiaries.
The Financial Conduct Authority has approved shares in the newly created corporate structure to be admitted to the main segment of the London Stock Exchange, the fund group said in an RNS announcement published on Monday evening. It does not expect the restructure to threaten its inclusion in the FTSE 250.
Current shareholders will be entitled to receive one ordinary share in the new group for each ordinary share they own in the existing parent company.
Business as usual in London
Man Group is hoping the changes to its corporate structure and international governance will give it greater flexibility to compete with global asset managers in the US and other international markets where it has seen “significant growth” in the last five years.
Man’s businesses in the US and Asia are currently prudentially regulated by the UK authorities as well as local regulators. But under the proposed structure it would no longer be subject to global consolidated capital requirements.
The London funds group stressed the move would not affect the company’s presence or business operations in London.
It added that no employees will be relocating as a result of the proposals with the exception of the group’s chief operating officer and general counsel Robyn Grew who will be moving to the US.
Man Group is one of the world’s largest hedge fund managers with assets under management of $112.3bn as at 31 March 2019.
However, investors have been aggressively pulling money from its Man GLG long short strategies and long-only global, US and Japanese strategies this year. It ended the first quarter with net outflows of $700m driven by customer redemptions of $8.6bn which UBS analysts calculated to be the worst ever for the group.
The scheme will need to be approved by at least 75% of shareholders at a Court Meeting and subsequent General Meeting on 10 May and also requires the sanction of the Court.
