Man Group has appointed Steven Desmyter as head of Responsible Investment and chair of Man Group’s responsible investment committee.
Desmyter, who is also member of Man Group’s Executive Committee and Head of Sales across EMEA, will hold its current role in addition to his new responsibilities.
In his position of head of Responsible Investment, Desmyter will lead Man Group’s focus on serving its clients’ interest in incorporating environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) considerations in the investment decision-making process.
By chairing the firm’s responsible committee, he will oversee its responsible investment policies and leads efforts to educate and support each of Man Group’s investment management businesses in adopting responsible investment approaches that fit for their individual investment strategies.
Man Group has also appointed Jason Mitchell as sustainability strategist, in addition to his current role on Man GLG’s European and international equity teams.
Mitchell will work across the firm’s investment strategies, to support the integration of extra-financial factors and sustainability themes into investment processes across all asset classes.
Luke Ellis, CEO, Man Group said: “Our investors increasingly consider environmental, social and governance factors to be a key part of sound investment stewardship. Through his strong relationships with our clients and understanding of their needs, Steven has already been instrumental in developing our responsible investment capabilities.
“We are committed to furthering the interests of our clients in this area and I am delighted that Steven will now be formally leading Man Group’s efforts in this space, supported by Jason Mitchell who has been a key industry advocate for responsible investment.”
Steven Desmyter, head of Responsible Investment, Man Group added: “We consider responsible investment fundamental to our fiduciary duty to our clients, as they seek to better understand and mitigate long-term, non-financial risks. Our industry is still working towards a truly sustainable and consistent approach to responsible investment but I have been encouraged by recent progress.”
Man Group had $88.7bn of assets under management as of 31 March 2017.
