$138B Fund Manager Ready To Jump Into Crypto Carnage: Report
The fund manager’s reported plan comes to light after crypto exchange FTX initiated bankruptcy proceedings last week
Blockworks Exclusive art by axel rangel
Man Group is reportedly preparing to launch a crypto-focused hedge fund as the segment deals with the aftermath of the collapse of FTX and the ripple effects that continue to play out.
The London-based company has been developing the strategy in recent months, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
Set to be led by portfolio manager Andre Rzym, the sources said, Man Group trading unit AHL could look to launch the fund by the end of the year. Before joining Man AHL in 2005, Rzym worked at JPMorgan, where he traded emerging-market interest rate and credit default swaps.
A Man Group spokesperson declined to comment.
Man Group, which offers long-only, alternative and private markets products, managed $138.4 billion in assets across its investment managers, as of Sept. 30. The company is publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange. Its stock price, which is down 6.2% on the year, was up nearly 2% Friday.
The company’s reported plan comes to light after crypto exchange FTX initiated bankruptcy proceedings last week. Lawyers representing FTX and affiliates said in a bankruptcy motion on Monday that as many as one million creditors could be named in the suit.
Contagion is still taking shape. Crypto yield platform BlockFi is reportedly in danger of going bankrupt, and the lending division of Genesis has halted customer redemptions and new loan originations — both developments just two of many ripples from FTX’s splash.
Between 25% and 40% of cryptocurrency-focused hedge funds had some level of direct exposure to FTX, or its native token, FTT, Crypto Fund Research said Monday.
The hedge funds’ exposure to the exchange has been on average between 7% and 12% of assets under management, according to the data provider.“
When the smoke clears, we expect the losses from crypto hedge funds and crypto venture funds directly exposed to the FTX collapse to have associated losses of well over $1 billion and possibly as much as $5 billion,” Crypto Fund Research CEO Josh Gnaizda told Blockworks.
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