Man Group's glory days look firmly behind it. Back in May 2008, when shares in the UK-listed hedge fund manager touched highs of more than 600 pence (about $9), chief executive Peter Clarke boasted of the firm's resilient business model and the benefits of diversification into non-correlated asset classes. Now, with the shares languishing at 247 pence following a 57% slump in pretax profits in 2009, Man Group is struggling to reinvent itself.

The first problem is returns. Man Group's flagship AHL fund, responsible for the bulk of its profits, uses computer models to exploit price trends across markets. After 15 years in positive territory and an average 12% return from 2004-08, the fund lost 15% last year. Group assets under management fell 16% to $39bn (€29.2bn), down from $75bn just two years earlier, leading to much lower management and performance fees.