The new Trump administration brings with it a period of uncertainty, but Man Group’s place in Europe has enabled it to have a different perspective than U.S.-based hedge funds, said Robyn Grew, Man Group’s CEO, in a Jan. 28 fireside chat at the Global Alts 2025 Conference in Miami Beach.
“Being in Europe has enabled us to have perspective over many, many years about what it is to operate different jurisdictions and deal with different environments, regimes, and regulations,” said Grew. “I think what's very interesting about the position we face in the U.S. is the words America and exceptionalism just are seemingly joined with Gorilla glue at the moment, and ever were it thus.”
What she is still waiting to see is whether the return of Donald Trump to the U.S. Presidency will bring with it “good-for-the-markets Trump” or “bad-for-the-markets Trump.”
“Are we going to see deregulation? Are we going to see a reduction in taxes? Are you going to see peacemaking?” asked Grew.
“If these things come into play, they are exceptionally strong things for markets. Or are you going to see some of the disruptive elements? Are you going to see him not peacemaking? Are you going to see some of the rhetoric around 51st states or Greenland, or some of that?”
Grew also said she knows that the overall economy in a slightly inflationary environment and a higher interest rate environment, so they know we’re going to have a time of volatility and some times of dispersion. She also mentioned looking at the geopolitical crises such as the Russia-Ukraine war and the wars in the Middle East and how Europe is using its oil reserves right now in the cold weather.
“That perspective allows us to see where there are opportunities in markets, beyond the richness of equities in the U.S., where clients are navigating these changes, and how they're thinking about portfolio construction and navigating volatility and the dispersion that we're going to see in the markets,” said Grew.
She pointed to the Monday Jan. 27 disruption in the markets due to the performance of China’s DeepSeek as an example of how volatility and dispersion is ahead.
“We didn't have to go very far when we all woke up on Monday with this fabulous news about DeepSeek to see how fragile even the S&P (500) is in these moments,” said Grew. “It’s a good perspective to sit back. (It’s a) good perspective to see what this thing is called, American exceptionalism. Interesting to see where there are other opportunities in other asset classes and in other jurisdictions that can be mined, and a real sense of how people need to think about portfolio construction.”
Grew said that Man Group has 500 employees in the U.S., which is the best capital market in the world.
“You can’t ignore it,” she said. “And there’s an interesting piece about what is the alternative to it as well. There are lots and lots of conversations right now that say, ‘Okay, but if there is some break in the market in the U.S., where does capital go? Where actually is the home?”
“So I think that there is no doubt this is an exciting time in the U.S. It's an exciting time for all of us to do our jobs. It's just not an easy time,” Grew said.
