Man Group plc’s Hong Kong-based quantitative managed futures manager, AHL, has seen its staff headcount double to make it one of tPARA_BREAK_SENTINEL_9f8e7d6c

Man Group plc’s Hong Kong-based quantitative managed futures manager, AHL, has seen its staff headcount double to make it one of the city’s first and largest CTAs to create a standalone trading operation. The firm has suffered in recent times having had a blockbuster 2008 in which its AHL Diversified Futures fund returned 72.97 per cent. But it lost nearly 26 per cent in ’09 and despite returning over 15 per cent last year, it was 3.5 per cent down on the S&P 500 TR Index. According to Morningstar, the fund was down 8.64 per cent in Q1 this year. The Hong Kong operations team has strengthened from five to 11 to give AHL faster local trading support and develop further specialization in Asian markets. The new trading operation covers 49 Asian markets and trades around USD4billion daily. AHL has been in Hong Kong for over 15 years but decided to launch a trading desk in ’09 to build closer relationships with local exchanges. AHL’s Hong Kong CEO, Tim Wong said that the expansion would help them provide the “very best trading and risk management services” for regional clients. “We have a great network across the continent and we will continue to build relationships and explore new trading ideas through local talent,” said Wong.