Man Group replaces chief Peter Clarke with Emmanuel Roman

Peter Clarke has announced he will quit Man Group, handing over to Emmanuel Roman.

Amid intense speculation, Clarke (pictured) this afternoon confirmed to the market he will retire from the hedge fund house and step down from its board in February.

Roman, currently chief operating officer and president, will take over Clarke's role as chief executive.

'It has been a great privilege to have been at Man for nearly twenty years. During that time I have been proud to have played a part in Man's transformation,' Clarke said, as he announced his decision.

Despite the firm's rise from a commodity broker into one of the globe's largest alternative asset managers following its acquisition of FRM Holdings, Man has come under pressure in recent months to replace Clarke with Roman as it strives to repair its reputation and restore its flagship AHL strategy to outperformance.

Man has already set in motion steps to link executives' rewards with the performance of shares and to boost its dividend. Slightly later it unveiled a plan to rename part of its business.