Asset manager paying nearly $400k per head hikes compensation amdist AI rollout
A new wave of agentic AI systems like OpenClaw and Claude Cowork are the hot topic in financial services technology, but hedge funds are ahead of the game. Publicly traded fund group Man Group has been developing its AI tools for years, coinciding with a steady pruning of its headcount.
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In its 2025 annual report released today, Man Group revealed that it had reduced headcount by 3%. This was offset by its acquisition of private credit firm Bardin Hill, which had 48 people; excluding those people, headcount fell by 9% from 1,777 to 1,672. It's the second consecutive year of headcount reductions at Man Group after headcount fell a mere 1% in 2024 from a high of 1,790 employees in 2023.
In that time, Man Group has been building out its AI capabilities. It signed a major deal with Claude developers Anthropic earlier this month, but the fund's Q4 presentation revealed that it had developed 100+ AI plugins prior to the deal, which will likely be operable with Claude Cowork. Speaking in Man Group's investor call, CEO Robyn Grew said there are no specific milestones for the partnership, but said the fund is looking "at the front end and the research capability that we can look at and develop more," as well as other opportunities across the organization.
Man was an early AI adopter, and had developed its own proprietary chatbot, ManGPT, in 2024. Speaking at Quant Strats' London conference in 2024, then-head of AI Tim Mace said the technology was not "entirely delivering on the hype" but showed promise. Times seem to have changed.
Average compensation spending increased as headcount fell. Fixed and variable compensation (salaries and bonuses) for Man Group staff in 2025 were collectively $392.7k per head, up from $385k in 2024. Bonuses were slightly down, but salaries were up 6.9%, over $10k, on average. The fund said in its 2024 annual report that "overall salaries [were] budgeted to increase by an average of 3.8%" in 2025; it appears to have far exceeded that goal.
Man Group's assets under management climbed 35% last year despite its slumping headcount. The fund's star performer was its multistrategy unit, Man 1783, which was up 14% for the year, while its AHL Alpha fund gained 5.5%.
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