International asset manager Robeco has appointed a new chief investment officer (CIO).
Anton Eser will join Robeco on 1 September as a member of its executive committee and as its chief investment officer.
He will be replacing outgoing CIO, Mark van der Kroft, who retires from Robeco after 25 years, including five as CIO.
Most recently, Eser worked as CIO at multi-asset manager 10X Investments in South Africa and previously spent 13 years at Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM) which has US$1.5 trillion ($2.2 trillion) in assets under management.
His roles at LGIM during the period included CIO and co-head of global fixed income, having launched its global credit business. As part of this, he led a 350-strong investment team spanning index, active fixed income, global equities, and multi-asset solutions.
Karin van Baardwijk, Robeco chief executive, said: “Anton brings a wealth of global experience and a proven track record in leading diverse investment strategies. His deep expertise aligns seamlessly with our strategic ambitions.
“We are excited about the fresh perspectives he will contribute to our investment platform and are confident he will play a key role in driving our continued growth.
“We are grateful to Mark for his outstanding leadership and dedication in various roles over the past decades. He has played an essential role in shaping Robeco’s investment philosophy and culture, and has been instrumental in building the successful company we are today. We wish him all the best in his well-deserved retirement.”
During his time at LGIM, Robeco flagged Eser worked on its ESG integration across investment teams and the development of its Future World sustainable fund range.
This ties into Robeco’s recently launched sustainable fund range, which was created with the launch of two new equity strategies and the transition of two existing fixed income funds.
The firm said the two changes would allow its investors to “tap into the growth potential of the sustainable transition” to provide a greater percentage of investors with access to transition investing strategies.
This investment approach looks to invest in high carbon-intensive companies which are at the beginning of their sustainability journey towards greening the economy, and will initially focus on Asia and emerging markets where it sees the greatest change taking place.
