EMG Man Group Plc

By Laurence Fletcher and Giles Turner 

In Manny Roman, Pacific Investment Management Co. may have found the tough turnaround specialist the giant U.S. bond manager has been looking for.

French-born Mr. Roman, a 52-year-old former Goldman Sachs banker and serial deal-maker, is widely credited with leading a turnaround at hedge-fund group Man Group PLC that has included a raft of big acquisitions to diversify the business and sweeping changes to his management team.

Known for his ruthlessness, collection of French wines, keen intellect and willingness to spend hours talking about his beloved Arsenal F.C., a soccer team in the English Premier League, Mr. Roman took over the reins at Man Group--then a struggling company--in early 2013.

The London-based hedge-fund firm had for years been battling client outflows and losses from its flagship computer-driven hedge fund AHL. It had also been tainted by the revelation it had invested around $360 million with Bernard Madoff, the man behind the biggest financial swindle in history.

Mr. Roman arrived at Man Group with its 2010 takeover of London-based GLG Partners, a firm of hedge-fund traders known for its tough culture, where he was a co-chief executive. The takeover, seen by many at the time as gamble by Man Group, was a clash of cultures epitomized by Mr. Roman's rise to the top.

One employee at AHL, which uses highly complex mathematical models to trade markets, described the deal as being "like the chess club taking over the football team."

Mr. Roman was made Man Group's president and chief operating officer but was seen by many insiders as the power behind the throne. He eventually took over the CEO role from Peter Clarke, Man Group's former finance director, in early 2013, after a contest in which many observers saw only one eventual winner.

Mr. Roman embarked on a trail of acquisitions including Boston-based Numeric Holdings and Connecticut-based Silvermine Capital, capped bonuses and appointed Sandy Rattray head of AHL, which went on to become one of the world's top-performing hedge funds in 2014.

"This is a loss for Man," said RBC Capital Markets analyst Peter Lenardos. "Manny had a respectable tenure at Man Group.

"However, Man has other talented senior executives. Jonathan Sorrell, the CFO, immediately comes to mind," he said.

Pimco, a unit of German insurer Allianz SE, made the decision to hire a new senior executive a few months ago, with a focus on corporate strategy, according to a person familiar with the hiring process, which was led by the firm's chief investment officer, Daniel Ivascyn.

The search evolved into a hunt for a chief executive, involving Allianz. At the same time, Allianz also announced the hiring of Jacqueline Hunt as a management board member overseeing Pimco, starting in July. She replaced Jay Ralph, a strong defender of Pimco before the departure of co-founder and Chief Investment Officer Bill Gross in 2014.

" Doug Hodge has done a terrific job of leading Pimco through what was a challenging time," said Ms. Hunt in a statement, referring to Mr. Roman's predecessor at Pimco.

Mr. Hodge, who reported to Ms. Hunt, will now focus on relationships with Pimco's clients.

Soon after taking up the reins at Pimco, Mr. Hodge told The Wall Street Journal there was a "overwhelming" sense of relief and excitement at the giant asset manager following the departure of Mr. Gross.

While Mr. Hodge focused on the public face of the company, Mr. Gross's investment management role was taken up by Mr. Ivascyn. A series of deputy CIOs were also appointed, as the manager attempted to move away from the autocratic style of Mr. Gross.

Pimco quickly ended its move into global equities, a drive backed by Mr. Gross, leading to the departure of one of its new CIOs. The manager also made changes to how its junior employees were handled and placed a greater emphasis on team management.

Client withdrawals from its flagship Total Return bond fund that Mr. Gross managed have since slowed. Investors pulled a net $900 million from the $88 billion fund in March, according to Pimco.

Write to Laurence Fletcher at laurence.fletcher@wsj.com and Giles Turner at giles.turner@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 20, 2016 06:55 ET (10:55 GMT)

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