UPDATE 1-Man Group profit beats forecast, assets rise

* Funds under management $44 bln at end-Sept

* Net outflows $1.9 bln

* Pretax profit for 6 months to Sept $302 mln

* Interim dividend maintained at 19.2 cents a share

(Adds detail)

LONDON, Nov 5 (Reuters) - Hedge fund firm Man Group (LSE: EMG.L - news) reported higher than expected profits and a rebound in assets, helped by a slowdown in withdrawals by clients, confirming it is recovering from the industry's toughest period on record.

Pretax profit fell to $302 million from $622 million a year before, 8 percent above the group's estimate in September, helped by strong performance from its funds at the end of the six-month period. Assets under management, on which fund firms earn fees, rose to $44 billion at end-September, up from a trough of $43.3 billion reached at the end of June. (To read the Reuters Hedge Fund Blog click on http://blogs.reuters.com/hedgehub; for the Global Investing Blog click on http://blogs.reuters.com/globalinvesting/) (Reporting by Laurence Fletcher, edited by Cecilia Valente)