This week saw a changing of the guard spanning senior figures across ETF issuers and fund selectors.
On Monday, ETF Stream revealed Keshava Shastry, global capital markets head at DWS, is set to depart after more than a decade.
An industry source said Shastry will be replaced by current DWS European capital markets head Jamie Hartley.
Elsewhere, ETF Stream revealed 7IM’s senior investment manager Peter Sleep will leave next month after 17 years at the firm.
Sleep, whose replacement is yet to be announced, had a founding role in the wealth manager’s AAP funds range and led its discretionary passive funds offering.
FCA softens crypto stance
The London Stock Exchange will start accepting bitcoin and ethereum ETN applications in Q2 after the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said it ‘will not object’ to requests to list crypto ETNs on regulated exchanges.
However, the watchdog said crypto ETNs must be physically backed, non-leveraged and only offer access to bitcoin or ethereum. The 2020 ban on retail investors accessing the products also remains in place.
Industry versus CSDR penalties
Leading investment bodies have hit back at proposals for progressive cash penalties to be introduced for ETF settlement failures under the Central Securities Depository Regime (CSDR).
If introduced, penalty rates would rise from 2.5basis points (bps) on day one to 12.5bps if ETFs fail to settle six days after the intended settlement date.
ETF Wrap is a weekly digest of the top stories on ETF Stream
