Man Group Has a Message for Reddit Rookies: We’re Watching You

The Business Insider reports:

The world’s largest publicly-listed hedge fund has decided that the Reddit mob is now too influential to be ignored.

Man Group Plc, known for its computer-driven quant funds, has built a system to track hot topics on the website’s WallStreetBets forum, according to Chief Executive Officer Luke Ellis. Managers receive a daily report on names being discussed on the site that hosted the hordes of retail investors behind the recent short squeeze on GameStop Corp.

The report shows how the firm is using “technology to address investment problems that humans alone can’t handle efficiently,” Ellis said on a call with analysts Tuesday.

Man Group is bolstering its defenses after a 6-million strong Reddit crowd joined forces in late January to fire up stocks most hated by hedge fund elites. One of the biggest casualties was Andrew Left’s Citron Research, which said it will discontinue offering short-selling analysis after 20 years of providing the service. Melvin Capital was forced to retreat by dumping its short position on GameStop, while Carson Block and others cut bets.

Read more: Short Sellers Face End of an Era as Rookies Rule Wall Street

A majority of Man Group assets sit in its alternative investing funds, meaning a large number of them use short selling strategies to make money or hedge risk. The firm said Tuesday that cash inflows helped its assets under management reach a record $123.6 billion at the end of last year.

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