Specialist asset manager Man Group has announced the appointment of a chief investment officer focussed on environmental, social and governance based investing.

Robert Furdak will take the newly created role based in Boston, US, and will report to Sandy Rattray the overall chief investment officer for Man Group.

“At Man Group, we believe ESG forms a crucial part of the research, investment and risk management process,” said Rattray in a statement.

“The creation of this role is the natural next step as we seek to leverage synergies, data and learnings across the firm and beyond. Robert will be taking on this significant role, as he’s been instrumental in Man Group’s efforts to harness data to develop effective ESG models and tools in recent years.”

Robert most recently served as co CIO of Man Numeric, the firm’s fundamentally driven quantitative investment business, as well as chairman of Man Numeric’s Investment Committee and head of Man Numeric’s US/Global Group.

During this time, he led the development of Man Numeric’s proprietary ESG model and drove the integration of ESG across Man Numeric’s investment strategies. Currently 90% of its assets incorporate the ESG factor. He also helped develop Man Group’s proprietary ESG dashboard tool, Man Group ESG Analytics, which launched in 2019.

“It’s been gratifying to be a part of the evolution of responsible investment at Man Group,” said Furdak in a statement.

“I look forward to coordinating the diverse and robust responsible investment efforts across the firm’s investment engines to ensure we help our clients navigate the complexities in the space and take advantage of alpha-generating opportunities.”