Big Payday at Man Group

The top three executives at the U.K.'s Man Group were the recipients of hefty raises last year after performance fees more than tripled at the world's largest listed hedge fund firm.

According to the company's annual report released Tuesday, CEO Stanley Fink earned 5.99 million pounds, or about $11 million, for the period starting April 1, 2005, and ending March 31 of this year, an increase of 57%.

Kevin Davis, the managing director of Man Financial, Man Group's brokerage arm, collected 4.71 million pounds, or $8.67 million, up 59% from his compensation package of the previous year. Peter Clarke, the deputy CEO and financial director of Man Group, earned 3.98 million pounds, or $7.33 million, a 68% increase year over year.

Man Group, which has $50 billion in assets under management, trades on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100.

If the pay hikes look impressive, they reflect in large part a successful year for Man. "The large bulk of the compensation package is made up by bonuses," says Lachlan Johnston, a spokesman for the company. Indeed, Fink earned a comparatively modest salary of 426,000 pounds, or $785,000, out of his overall pay. The rest came from bonuses.

The salaries for Davis and Clarke were also a small part of their totals, at 346,000 pounds and 342,000 pounds, respectively.

As is the case with most hedge funds, bonuses are a result of performance. For the most recent 12 months, performance fees for the group rose by 278% to $450 million from $119 million the year before. In addition, Man Group increased its asset base by 16% and saw an increase in its profitability. Diluted earnings per share rose 18% to $2.14, excluding the impact of the acquisition of Refco.