Man GLG macro hedge fund lost 9 pct in Jan, to shut - sources
By Nishant Kumar
LONDON (Reuters) - A macro hedge fund managed by the GLG unit of Man Group lost 9 percent in January and is closing, sources said.
The performance contrasts with gains in the group's hedge funds which use computer programs to drive their investment decisions. The $4.4 billion (3 billion pound) AHL Diversified fund gained 7.2 percent last month, while the $4 billion AHL Evolution fund returned 7.7 percent, according to data seen by Reuters.
The decision follows a torrid month for many macro hedge funds who were caught out by the Swiss franc rise during the month after a surprise decision by the Swiss National Bank to remove a cap on the currency.
The GLG Atlas Macro fund manages about $70 million, down from peak assets of about $600 million in 2012, and is one of the smallest hedge funds under the GLG unit, which managed $32.2 billion at the end of September last year.
The remainder of the fund's assets will be merged into the Man GLG Multi-Strategy Fund, which manages about $1 billion, one of the sources said.
Macro hedge funds, which focus on major economic trends and bet on assets such as stocks, currencies, bonds, commodities and indices, gained 2.35 percent last month, data from industry tracker Eurekahedge showed.
A spokeswoman for Man Group declined to comment.
GLG Atlas Macro fund joins the likes of COMAC Capital, which is returning external clients' capital after a loss in January, and Everest Capital which shut a fund, following nearly four years of mediocre performance by macro hedge funds globally.
Others such as the $750 million Harness Macro Currency Strategy, a hedge fund started by former Fortress Investment Group portfolio manager Philippe Peress, lost 8.8 percent in January, while the Fortress Macro Fund lost about 7 percent.
(Corrects paragraph eight to show COMAC Capital is returning external capital and not shutting fund)
(Reporting by Nishant Kumar; Editing by Carolyn Cohn and Louise Heavens)
