Man Group's assets under management slipped by more than $2 billion in the first six months of the year, as poor performance from Japanese equities offset an otherwise positive period for flows of new money.

In an interim results statement for the year to June 30, published this morning, the world's largest listed hedge fund manager said it saw net inflows of $1 billion over the period. This marked a turnaround from a year ago, when the firm reported a $2.6 billion net outflow.