Market gains push Man Group assets up 3.5 percent in first quarter

LONDON (Reuters) - British hedge fund firm Man Group said on Thursday that investment gains pushed its funds under management up to $112.3 billion (£85.8 billion) in the first quarter from $108.5 billion at the end of December.

Man Group said positive investment movement of $4.5 billion, partially offset by net outflows of $0.7 billion, helped assets rise by 3.5 percent.

Investors withdrew $8.6 billion from the firm in the quarter, particularly from the absolute return and discretionary long-only strategies, while it received $7.9 billion in fresh investments.

"While we expect clients to continue adjusting their portfolio allocations during the second quarter, we see ongoing engagement with clients on new mandates and...continuing strong demand for our total return strategies," said Luke Ellis, chief executive officer of Man Group.

Total return strategies increased assets by 11 percent in the quarter, adding $2.2 billion in funds.

(Reporting by Maiya Keidan; Editing by Rachel Armstrong)