Man Group to Launch Crypto Hedge Fund Despite FTX Collapse

Investment management company Man Group Plc is preparing to float a crypto hedge fund in the coming weeks. This is worthy of admiration as the London-based firm is delving into the crypto market which has been on a downward trend since the news of FTX implosion and bankruptcy filing. 

Based on a statement by Bloomberg, Man Group which currently has over $138 billion in assets under management (AUM) plans to launch the blockchain-based hedge fund through its computer-led trading unit AHL. It is expected that the crypto hedge fund will kick off before the end of this year. 

Once the crypto hedge fund commences, it will be led by portfolio manager Andre Rzym who has been with Man AHL since 2005. Rzym, who previously worked at JPMorgan, has been strategically making efforts alongside Man Group to bring the vision to reality. During his time at JPMorgan, Rzym traded emerging-market interest rate and credit default swaps.

With Man AHL and the incoming hedge fund, the manager Rzym is saddled with the responsibilities of identifying new alternative markets and developing trading models. He has contributed immensely to the firm’s expansion into securities such as interest rate swaps, credit default swaps, cash bonds, and catastrophe bonds. 

Man Group Records $138B AUM in September 

Before now, Man Group was already trading cryptocurrency futures within AHL but will now assess counterparty risks ahead of the crypto hedge fund launch. 

Man Group trades publicly on the London Stock Exchange and is a component of the FTSE 250. Its stock price which has been down by up to 6.2% this year was almost 2% up on Friday. Markedly, its total AUM of $138.4 billion in September is a slight fall from its $142.3 billion in the previous quarter. 

While all these are coming in the wake of the FTX liquidity crunch which has also pulled down its sister trading firm Alameda Research and many other associates, crypto adoption has been moving at a slow pace. Many regulators have started putting efforts into designing a more robust and standardized regulatory framework. Even the price of many crypto assets has dwindled like Bitcoin (BTC) which is currently trading below $17,000.