Pay Pops at U.K.'s Largest Listed Hedge Fund

U.K. hedge fund manager Man Group PLC is weighing ways to boost future incentive packages for top executives Emmanuel "Manny" Roman and Jonathan Sorrell, after a boost in their bonus awards saw their compensation surge.

Chief Executive Mr. Roman saw his compensation last year increase 49% to $5.1 million over 2014, according to the company’s annual report published Friday. Finance director Mr. Sorrell received $3.2 million, 19% higher than in 2013.

Man will consult with shareholders on possible changes to incentives for the pair, with the move aimed at bringing senior executives' performance-related pay into line with peers to reward continued strong progress since a restructuring in 2013.

Man’s remuneration committee chairman Phillip Colebatch wrote in the report: “We compete for talent with, among others, privately held investments and hedge funds for which there is limited public disclosure on remuneration. The comparison with the public peer group has shown that the total compensation of our executive directors is at the low end of both CEO and CFO remuneration.”

The incentive element of the compensation packages for both Mr. Roman, who earns a basic annual salary of $1 million, and Mr. Sorrell, who earns $625,000 – going up to $750,00 from April 1 – consists of an annual short-term cash bonus of up to 2.5 times salary and a long-term deferred bonus of up to 3.5 times salary.

The bonus caps for senior executives were brought in by Man during its restructuring in 2012-2013, and the move to explore ways to boost the potential incentive packages for its executives comes at a time when the firm has made strong progress in diversifying its business, and is ahead of target on planned cost savings.

Read more at our sister publication Financial News.