Director dealings: Man CFO lops off chunk of hedge fund manager

Man Group chief financial officer Jonathan Sorrell sold £802,000 worth of shares in the hedge fund manager on Thursday.

Sorrell, who was appointed to the board in June 2012 after joining Man as head of strategy and corporate finance in 2011 from a previous career at Goldman Sachs, sold 639,489 shares at a price of 125.38p per share.

His sale comes two months after investment chief Luke Ellis was promoted over his head as the company's new chief executive, following the departure of former boss Manny Roman.

Last month the FTSE 250 fund manager reported a jump in third-quarter funds under management and announced an agreement to acquire real asset manager Aalto Invest Holding AG.

Funds under management increased 6% to $80.7bn, with net inflows of $1.3bn, supported by demand from institutional investors.

Brokers have mostly been positive about the company as it conducts a $100m buyback to boost its near-term earnings per share, with Jefferies admiring Man for its defensive qualities, though the performance of the group’s investment manager business AHL remains a drag on sentiment.

Top Director Buys

Relx Plc (REL)
Director name: Hauser,Wolfhart
Amount purchased: 7,435 @ 1,337.99p
Value: £99,479.56

South32 Limited (di) (S32)
Director name: Kukielski ,Peter
Amount purchased: 32,800 @ A$2.77
Value: A$56,275.01

Picton Property Income Ltd (PCTN)
Director name: Lewis,Roger
Amount purchased: 70,000 @ 74.21p
Value: £51,945.60

Computacenter (CCC)
Director name: Lock,Greg
Amount purchased: 5,000 @ 721.00p
Value: £36,050.00

Sse (SSE)
Director name: Bickerstaffe,Katie
Amount purchased: 677 @ 1,461.00p
Value: £9,890.97

Sse (SSE)
Director name: Bickerstaffe,Katie
Amount purchased: 677 @ 1,460.00p
Value: £9,884.20

Science In Sport (SIS)
Director name: Moon,Stephen
Amount purchased: 10,000 @ 63.00p
Value: £6,300.00

Majestic Wine (WINE)
Director name: Harding,Ian
Amount purchased: 2,000 @ 304.00p
Value: £6,080.00

Sinclair Pharma (SPH)
Director name: Olby,Alan
Amount purchased: 6,748 @ 28.50p
Value: £1,923.18

Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY)
Director name: Horta-Osorio,Antonio
Amount purchased: 3,069 @ 61.55p
Value: £1,888.97

Supergroup (SGP)
Director name: Cartwright,Andrea
Amount purchased: 10 @ 1,570.00p
Value: £157.00

Supergroup (SGP)
Director name: Sutherland ,Euan
Amount purchased: 10 @ 1,517.00p
Value: £151.70

Sig (SHI)
Director name: Robertson,Douglas
Amount purchased: 166 @ 90.45p
Value: £150.15

Jpmorgan Asian Investment Trust (JAI)
Director name: Gould,Ronald
Amount purchased: 46 @ 269.67p
Value: £124.05

Top Director Sells

Redde (REDD)
Director name: Ward,Martin
Amount sold after options: 4,000,000 @ 170.00p
Value: £6,800,000.19

Redde (REDD)
Director name: Oakley,Stephen
Amount sold: 2,000,000 @ 170.00p
Value: £3,400,000.10

Redde (REDD)
Director name: Oakley,Stephen
Amount sold: 2,000,000 @ 170.00p
Value: £3,400,000.10

Man Group (EMG)
Director name: Sorrell,Jonathan
Amount sold: 639,489 @ 125.38p
Value: £801,765.11

Stadium Group (SDM)
Director name: Peppiatt,Charles
Amount sold: 116,227 @ 77.00p
Value: £89,494.79