By Scott Kanowsky
Investing.com -- Shares in Man Group PLC (LON:EMG) surged towards the top of the pan-European STOXX 600 on Friday after the fund manager announced a new share buyback program worth up to $125 million.
In a statement, the London-based firm - Britain's largest listed hedge fund - said the repurchases will run from today until December 8, 2023.
"The Share Buyback Programme is in line with the Company's policy to distribute capital to shareholders while maintaining a prudent balance sheet after taking into account required capital and potential strategic opportunities," it added.
The announcement comes after Man reported a decline in assets under management in the third quarter, dipping to $138.4B on September 30 from $142.3B at the end of June.
The company described the three-month period as "very difficult" for the wider asset management industry, with a slide in U.K. stocks and bonds compounding investor jitters over the outlook for the global economy. Man's closest rivals, including Rathbones (LON:RAT), Quilter (LON:QLT), and Liontrust Asset Management (LON:LIO), all saw AUMs slip, with the combined outflows for all four businesses amounting to $9.8B during the quarter.
Man also booked a negative quarterly foreign exchange impact of $4.5B, mainly due to a recent surge in the strength of the U.S. dollar.
Shares in Man Group are down by more than 7% over the last one-year period.