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ETF Securities Ltd (ETFS), the global pioneers in Exchange Traded Commodities (ETCs), and provider of Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), continues to grow its business with the strategic hire of Mark Weeks, who joins as Chief Executive of the ETF Exchange, the globe's first third generation ETF platform.
Mark's appointment is part of ETFS' expansion plan to join forces with some of the largest financial institutions worldwide to create the ETF Exchange and form Europe's leading ETF issuer. Mark will be responsible for driving the ETF exchange strategy, business development and co-ordinating with all parties involved.
Mark joins from UBS where he ran the highly successful Securities Lending franchise in Zurich. Prior to this, he spent 7 years at Goldman Sachs International, where as a Managing Director he was responsible for running the European Securities Finance sales and trading desk, servicing major institutional and hedge fund clients. This desk formed a core part of Goldman Sach's highly successful Prime Brokerage business. Before being appointed at Goldman Sach's, Mark joined London Global Securities in 1993, as Global Head of Securities Finance sales, which was ranked in the top five global players during his reign at the helm. Mark started his career in 1985 joining IP Sharp to sell securities finance systems, which led to a role at Morgan Stanley, where he was responsible for the European Securities Finance sales and trading business.
Mark's hire comes at a time when ETF Securities sees spectacular growth within ETPs, as assets under management breaks $12bn. ETF Securities now offers more than 140 ETPs with $12 billion in assets. The ETPs provide investors with a wide variety of investment strategies, with ETPs offering resource equities, physical, long, forward, leveraged and short exposure to all commodity sectors. ETPs are simple to access as they are traded in four currencies (EUR, USD, GBP and AUD) and listed on six major exchanges globally including the London Stock Exchange, NYSE-Euronext Paris, NYSE-Euronext Amsterdam, Deutsche Börse, Borsa Italiana and the Australian Securities Exchange.
Commenting on Mark's appointment, Graham Tuckwell, Chairman, of ETF Securities, said:
"We are delighted to announce the appointment of someone of Mark's calibre and experience. He brings a wealth of experience to the business and brings an important to new dimension to our team with his expertise in the field of securities finance. This appointment reflects our dedication to forge ahead with the building of the ETF exchange, with a view of becoming the most recognized ETC and ETF player in the marketplace. We fully expect Mark to achieve great things with the ETF Exchange which we expect will set the standard in Europe"
Commenting on AUM growth and award recognition, Hector McNeil, Managing Partner/Head of Sales & Marketing, at ETF Securities, said:
"Reaching $12 billion in assets is a significant milestone for our business and reflects our dedication to the field of ETFs and ETCs. These investment vehicles are some of the most highly traded products in Europe and the market reaction we've had is proof to the success of our ETCs and ETFs."
