Man Group has cemented its place as the world's largest hedge fund manager by expanding its assets under management to almost $72bn (€49bn) as at the end of last year, in line with the ambitious prediction made by its then chief executive Stanley Fink almost four years ago.

The UK-listed company said in a trading statement that its assets under management had reached $71.7bn at the end of December, up from $68.6bn at the end of September. The assets are in funds of hedge funds and single-manager hedge funds.