02/02/2011 Author: Tony Griffiths

Deutsche and Man close gap on Lyxor

Combined gains of $3bn in managed account assets in the last ten months at Man Group and Deutsche Bank saw the pair close the gap on industry leader Lyxor Asset Management, which toiled to recover losses accrued during a tough summer period.    

As of 1 January, assets under management (AuM) at the Man managed account platform stood at $8.7bn, a rise of just under 20%, up $1.4bn from the March 2010 total of $7.3bn.

At Deutsche Bank, a similar 20% jump pushed the firm’s managed account related assets up by $1.6bn, from $8bn to $9.6bn.

All of Deutsche’s gains were in its X-markets umbrella, which covers traditional hedge fund strategies and grew from $4.5bn to $6.1bn. The firm’s second platform, the more specialised db select, finished the year flat, remaining on $3.5bn.    

Paris-based Lyxor Asset Management, meanwhile, saw a small decline on its March 2010 AuM total of $10.5bn, dropping a little under 1% to $10.4bn as of 1 February.

According to a Lyxor spokesperson, the firm “experienced outflows in May, June and July last year in the aftermath of the Greek leg of the European sovereign debt crisis and good inflows during H2 2010, which have continued into this year.”

The changes in AuM at the three firms – the three largest managed account providers in the industry – have not affected the asset hierarchy but have cut Lyxor’s lead by a notable amount.

Last week, Man Group’s third-quarter statement revealed details of, “a major European managed account mandate for at least $1.5bn expected to conclude in February for funding over the year.”