More spinning, less spin-off

It is not surprising that Man Group is abuzz with talk of the possible demerger of the hedge fund’s broking business. Brokers are all the rage just now. Shares in Refco, a US foreign exchange and commodity broker, soared 25% on their debut earlier this month. Meanwhile, Collins Stewart Tullett, the UK broker, has received a bid approach. Wouldn’t it be opportunistic for Man to cash in on the party? The financial case for a spin-off sounds plausible. Investors ascribe Man Financial, as the broki...