Man Group unites AHL and Numeric into $156bn Man Systematic

Man Group merged its AHL and Numeric quantitative units in June to create a single $156 billion platform called Man Systematic. The combined business brings more than 250 employees, including about 100 technologists, into one research and technology organisation based mainly in London and Boston.

Russell Korgaonkar, previously head of AHL, now leads the combined unit. Daniel Taylor, formerly head of Numeric, was appointed deputy chief investment officer. Korgaonkar described the merger as ‘supported unanimously by the management committees of both businesses.’

Executives cited advances in artificial intelligence and intense competition for quantitative talent as primary reasons for the consolidation. The firm expects new AI-assisted coding tools to shorten routine programming work and broaden the types of people who can contribute to quantitative research.

Numeric historically focused on bottom-up quantitative equity strategies, while AHL ran macro-oriented and trend-following approaches. The merger removed separate technology and research infrastructures so researchers can more easily mix equity and macro signals and test a wider range of ideas.

The firm is encouraging researchers to document projects and add findings to a shared research library, even when a project does not produce an investable strategy. The library is intended to create a cumulative pool of institutional knowledge that teams can reuse and build on.

Executives gave an early example of cross-team collaboration: researchers in Boston are incorporating more macroeconomic signals after closer work with London colleagues. The combined platform keeps major operations in Boston and London to draw on deep academic and quant talent pools.

Man Group described how AI tools are changing workflows: researchers spend less time on routine coding and more time developing investment hypotheses, testing market relationships and designing higher-intensity research tasks. The firm expects those tools to allow people with stronger creative or market-focused skills to contribute without the same depth of coding expertise previously required.

Man Group noted growth in its systematic assets since acquiring Numeric in 2014. Systematic assets rose from about $26 billion in 2014 to $156 billion today, an average annual increase near 16 percent. The combined platform plans to add roughly a dozen hires in the coming weeks and stated that no roles were eliminated as a direct result of the consolidation.

Leaders listed intended effects of the integration: wider sharing of models, data and test results, greater collaboration across teams, a larger set of tradable signals and continued development of technology and research infrastructure. The unit will maintain relationships with major institutional investors that use its systematic strategies.