Key Takeaways
- • Man Group's Global Head of Sales and Marketing Steven Desmyter identifies three dominant client concerns: capital protection amid elevated inflation and market volatility, portfolio returns coupled with liquidity requirements, and customized investment objectives tailored to individual needs.
- • Trend-following strategies (AHL Trend Alternative and Alpha Core Alternative UCITS funds) continue to attract institutional flows, demonstrating ability to generate alpha during volatile periods without performance drag during stable years.
- • Alternative risk premia strategies in the long/short equity space remain favored by clients as liquid diversifiers to traditional market exposures, with ready cash conversion capabilities when needed.
- • Desmyter forecasts 2023 as a likely recessionary year, positioning higher-yielding credit, active management approaches, and liquid alternatives as investment themes gaining renewed attention after years of dormancy.
- • Man Group maintains $138.4 billion in assets under management with demonstrated flow resilience, though the firm has diversified beyond pure trend-following into quantitative equity, systematic credit, and multi-strategy vehicles.
Summary
Steven Desmyter, Global Head of Sales and Marketing at Man Group, outlined the investment priorities driving client flows in early 2023, reflecting a marked shift in institutional investor preferences following 2022's market dislocations. The three primary client concerns Desmyter identified—capital preservation amid elevated inflation, the need for both returns and liquidity, and portfolio customization—signal a move away from passive beta exposure toward structured alternatives and active management strategies.
Man Group's trend-following funds, specifically the AHL Trend Alternative and Alpha Core Alternative UCITS offerings, have captured significant investor demand by demonstrating their ability to generate positive alpha during volatile periods without becoming performance anchors during calmer market environments. This dual-regime performance characteristic addresses a fundamental institutional concern: how to participate in market upside while protecting capital during downturns. Desmyter's comments underscored the market validation these strategies received during 2022's equity and fixed-income selloff.
The firm's alternative risk premia strategies, particularly in long/short equity mandates, have similarly benefited from renewed client interest. These vehicles appeal to asset allocators seeking diversification from traditional exposures while maintaining liquidity and the ability to rapidly shift to cash when market conditions deteriorate. With Man Group's $138.4 billion in assets under management, the firm's multi-strategy approach—incorporating quantitative equity, systematic credit, and trend-following return streams—positions it to capture flows across multiple thematic shifts.
Desmyter's macroeconomic outlook proved notably prescient, forecasting 2023 as a likely recessionary year while identifying inflation as a structural rather than cyclical problem. Drawing parallels to the inflationary environment of the 1970s, he emphasized that historically, inflation takes years to control once embedded in the system. This framing elevated previously underweighted asset classes: higher-yielding credit (particularly active strategies avoiding passive index exposure), liquid alternatives, and inflation-hedging strategies. The resurgence of these themes after years of dormancy—driven by the 2022 collapse of the low-inflation, low-rate regime—represents a fundamental reallocation of institutional capital away from growth-oriented passive strategies.
Man Group's trend-following funds, specifically the AHL Trend Alternative and Alpha Core Alternative UCITS offerings, have captured significant investor demand by demonstrating their ability to generate positive alpha during volatile periods without becoming performance anchors during calmer market environments. This dual-regime performance characteristic addresses a fundamental institutional concern: how to participate in market upside while protecting capital during downturns. Desmyter's comments underscored the market validation these strategies received during 2022's equity and fixed-income selloff.
The firm's alternative risk premia strategies, particularly in long/short equity mandates, have similarly benefited from renewed client interest. These vehicles appeal to asset allocators seeking diversification from traditional exposures while maintaining liquidity and the ability to rapidly shift to cash when market conditions deteriorate. With Man Group's $138.4 billion in assets under management, the firm's multi-strategy approach—incorporating quantitative equity, systematic credit, and trend-following return streams—positions it to capture flows across multiple thematic shifts.
Desmyter's macroeconomic outlook proved notably prescient, forecasting 2023 as a likely recessionary year while identifying inflation as a structural rather than cyclical problem. Drawing parallels to the inflationary environment of the 1970s, he emphasized that historically, inflation takes years to control once embedded in the system. This framing elevated previously underweighted asset classes: higher-yielding credit (particularly active strategies avoiding passive index exposure), liquid alternatives, and inflation-hedging strategies. The resurgence of these themes after years of dormancy—driven by the 2022 collapse of the low-inflation, low-rate regime—represents a fundamental reallocation of institutional capital away from growth-oriented passive strategies.
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