Man Group, the largest listed hedge fund firm in the world, said its statutory profit on continuing operations for the six months to 30 September rose to $154 million compared with $147 million in the same period a year ago.

Funds under management fell to $64.5 billion at the end of September from $69.1 billion at the end of March, reflecting inflows of $1.0 billion, an investment movement of -$2.5 billion, a negative foreign currency translation effect of -$1.4 billion and other movements of -$1.7 billion, Man Group said in a statement today.

At the end of October, AuM stood around $63.5 billion, with redemptions lower than in September.

“The last six months began with record sales, but ended with a spike in redemptions as extreme volatility severely tested investor risk appetite in the late summer. Since period-end we saw reduced redemptions in October, and we ended the month with around $63.5 billion under management,” said Peter Clarke, chief executive.

“We remain focused on investment performance and profitable asset growth worldwide, but also on operational efficiency. Actions taken so far this year have secured $40 million of savings for 2012 from our debt repurchase and outsourcing initiatives. We are planning on the basis that investor appetite will remain subdued whilst markets remain volatile and uncertain, but are well positioned to capture demand when sentiment improves and investors return to markets,” Clarke added.

(While it is a UK company, Man Group's results are denominated in dollars).