I suspect trading tomorrow will probably answer this conundrum, but I know there are some far wiser owls than me that contribute to this bb & I would be interested in their opinions.

My question is this: the chart below looks to me like a pullback of the uptrend (ie when it went north through 14.00) however I am unsure as it has now broken down through 14.00 whether this is trending up or down :-(

So what do you think - up or down, or should I just flip a coin :-)) ?

Well done with these - a rise and 4.38p dividend.

150p would see me with a 20 percent gain. Look forward to spending it in Spain, thanks R for the invite. H

Bought in this morning. Could be open to a 50% + premium bid offer to the current share price.

Director told by investors to improve things - Hold on

About time.

StockMarketWire.com
Shares in Man Group have jumped around 8% after a strong broker forecast.

Societe Generale upgraded its recommendation from hold to buy. TP 115p.

Soc Gen note today:
"We move our recommendation on Man from Hold to Buy following the 35% fall in Man’s share price in recent weeks. In our view the positive momentum was too great following its results in March, and we now believe negative momentum is too great given the proven fundamentals of the business. Despite the market backdrop for hedge fund sales being challenging and the risks at Man being finely balanced, we see upside being driven by the likely improvement in either the industry backdrop or the performance of AHL (or both). We reduce our EPS forecasts and target price to 115p (was 155p) but retain our view that better flows and performance will return as the core qualities of Man’s distribution platform, product structuring capabilities and long-term investment performance are increasingly recognised. However, if these elements fail to return, we believe alternative upside could emerge from further cost reductions amounting to a potential US$75m, which would broadly reverse the EPS reductions made in this note. A bid for the company, while more likely than in the past, remains in our view a low probability outcome.

A Buy rating in the SG recommendation structure is based on the 12-month total shareholder return exceeding 15%. Man has already committed to a FY12 dividend of US$0.22 (prospective yield: 14.5%) and, based on the potential outcomes in the next 12 months, we see the potential for stock appreciation, offering a total return of 35%. While we appreciate the reasons for the recent share price weakness, as operating momentum is weak and sentiment low, we find negative price momentum is currently excessive.

How we value the stock Our target price of 115p is DCF derived (DCF details: CoE mgt fees 9.2%, CoE perf fees 19.6%, terminal growth 4%). Having adjusted for its excess capital balances, Man currently trades on 10.0x and 7.4x FY12e and FY13e total EPS respectively. On an ex-performance fees basis, it trades on 11.7x and 10.0x.

Events, catalysts & risks Q1 IMS: 1 May 2012. The main downside risk to our target price is that hedge fund investors remain cautious for longer, continuing the trend of quarterly outflows, or that AHL delivers material negative performance."

yesterdays purchase in profit..... keep going.,.

Assets under management AUM
Figure due out on Monday for Jan - Mar
and should add another few pence to share price

Forget Soc Gen calculations TP 115p
I agree with UBS, my Target Price is to touch about 150p pretty soon
(economic sentiment will improve well ahead of reality )

Any comments ?

I finally joined in here today, having missed the earlier rise and the dividend!!!!

GOOD LUCK SKINNY

Interim Management Statement.

Key points

· Funds under Management (FUM) at 31 March 2012 of $59.0 billion
(31 December 2011: $58.4 billion)

· Reduced net outflows in the quarter of $1.0 billion comprising sales of $3.1 billion and redemptions of $4.1 billion

· Positive investment movement of $2.0 billion in the quarter, with strong performance in a broad range of GLG strategies

- Gains of 5% or more in the European long/short, North American Opportunities, Alpha Select, Global Opportunity, Global Convertibles, Market Neutral, European Distressed, Emerging Markets and Multi-Strategy alternative investment styles, with long only Japan Core Alpha up 21.4% and Global Equities up 13.9%

- Three quarters of performance fee eligible GLG FUM at or within 5% of high water mark at end March

- Man AHL Diversified plc up 0.8% in the year to 26 March; AHL was approximately 14% from peak on a weighted average basis at end March

· FX and other movements of a negative $0.4 billion in the quarter, driven by guaranteed product degears after negative AHL performance in the rebalancing period: further degears of $0.4 billion on 1 April and $0.6 billion on 1 May

· Financial position remains strong, with a regulatory capital surplus, after a capital buffer, of approximately $550 million and net cash of approximately $250 million.

That will do for me out @ 102.2 + 6.2

CC, that doesn't show much confidence in believing that all Man's troubles are behind them now!

Correct Harry, I'm not.

I need an extra 30p, still, had the div thats something extra.,.

Looks like you did the right thing Chris.,.

Up to now BB, watching though, tempted to put a buy order in @ 102 in case of rebound but not just yet. :O)

.
...............Man Group under pressure as clients pull $1bn in Q1



......
Man Group (LSE: EMG.L - news) has come under further pressure to improve its investment performance after the company said that clients pulled out $1bn (£620m) from the hedge fund manager in the first three months of the year.

Although client outflows were less than the $1.5bn expected by analysts at Numis, the shares fell more than 5pc to 97.65p on Tuesday morning (NasdaqGS: TUES - news) as a wave of analysts cut price targets for the company.

"Redemptions reduced but investor sentiment remained fragile and we are yet to see an increase in sales," chief executive Peter Clarke said in a statement.

Man Group shares have fallen by almost 60pc since September due to investor outflows and poor performance from its flagship black box fund AHL.

The $21bn fund is designed to reduce investor risk by relying on algorithms developed by teams of PhDs analysing data patterns, eliminating human error. Man Group said on Tuesday that AHL was on average 14pc away from its so-called "high-water" mark, above which it can earn lucrative performance fees.

"Positive equity market movements in Q1 have helped, but markets have retreated a bit since the March highs," said Arun Melmane at Investec (Frankfurt: A0J32R - news) , which cut its price target to 135p from 172p.

Shares in the company have risen sharply over the past few days on the back of rumours naming it as a takeover target for suitors including BlackRock (NYSE: BLK - news) , though shares fell yesterday as investors grew jittery over Man Group's prospects ahead of its annual meeting today.

Reports have also suggested that Mr Clarke is facing a race against time to save his job following poor recent results.

Mark Williamson, analyst at Peel Hunt, said renewed European economic uncertainty caused by Spain's credit rating downgrade could continue to hit Man Group.

"Fund flows are very uncertain, particularly in the economic climate we're seeing, and its AHL division continues to underperform," he said.

Moody's said last week that it could downgrade Man Group from its current Baa2 rating on ongoing pressures on earnings, lower margins and "continued underperformance from key funds".

Man Group is currently rated just two notches above "junk" by the ratings agency, though analysts at Investec said any downgrade would not affect funding costs in the near term as the company has no debt maturing until next year.

lol......re- junk, could well be right.,.