Some 11 days into his tenure as CEO of Global, Ryan O’Connor is more focused on the future of the $47bn asset management firm than the recent past, which includes a raft of executive-level departures since November.
For example, he cites the $3.1bn inflows this year that have already surpassed the $2.3bn net new assets in 2023 as evidence of a receptive market.
But O’Connor, who joined Global X from Goldman Sachs Asset Management in February, acknowledges that the direction of the company now will factor in some of its missteps before he arrived.
Speaking to etf.com in his first media interview since joining Global X: “Change is never easy but I see it as a natural evolution of the platform.”
That change, which unfolded prior to the announced hiring of O’Connor in late February includes departures from CIO Jon Maier, head of finance Ronnie Riven, CEO Luis Berruga, COO John Belanger, head of human resource Crystal Christy and Bruno Stein, who led a small operation in Brazil.
The departures were a blend of voluntary and involuntary, and in some cases may have been tied to management shortcomings from basic things including a stagnant model portfolio business and more than a dozen ETFs launched over the past few years that failed to reach the $10m mark.
In January, Global X closed 19 ETFs, cutting its total lineup to 91. The closed funds included an eclectic mix of strategies focused on China, Pakistan, healthcare, real estate and cannabis.
Global X also pulled its filing for a spot bitcoin ETF, potentially missing out on inflows that have poured into that category since the ETFs were approved in January.
“A lot of times when the people who are entrepreneurial cash out and leave, the company is just not the same,” Bloomberg Intelligence ETF analyst Eric Balchunas said, referring to the 2018 acquisition of Global X by Korean global financial conglomerate Mirae Asset Global Investments.
One of Mirae’s first moves as owner of what was then a $10.2bn ETF shop was to install Berruga as CEO. The investment looked like a homerun by 2021 when the appeal of thematic strategies brought in $21bn, doubling the size of Global X.
But Berruga was fired in November 2023 and Thomas Park, co-CEO of Mirae’s US business, was installed as Global X’s interim CEO.
Mirae responded to a request for comment with the following statement: “We have seen significant momentum and innovation coming out of Global X.
"To maintain that momentum and take the brand to the next level, we decided to refocus the company's strategic direction. Given his significant ETF experience and insights, Ryan is playing a key role in that evolution.”
Asked if Global X is now hiring against that backdrop, O’Connor emphatically replied: “Yes, yes, yes.”
The New York-based ETF issuer has already filled at least one of the openings with Eric Olsen, who joins from SEI Investments and starts work on 23 April as chief financial officer, treasurer and principal accounting officer.
“I am very interested in making sure that Global X and what has made Global X since its founding, continues to be Global X,” O’Connor said. “I am talking about things like authentic culture filled with people who deliver on highly innovative investment themes and ideas.”
O’Connor, who was global head of product development and management at Goldman Sachs and spent a decade at State Street Global Advisors, where he worked on model portfolios, relishes the fact that “this is the first time I have worked for an ETF-only shop”.
“Everything we have going on here I am excited about, and I feel the energy,” he said, adding that the string of open positions “allows us to elevate many of the folks that have been here and are ready for leadership roles. It is exciting because where we need to, we are going to inject some talent from the outside.”
Measured by both assets and inflows, Global X ranks as a top 15 ETF issuer, which is worth building on, according to Nate Geraci, founder of The ETF Store, in Overland Park, Kans.
“The recent string of departures is perplexing, and the most logical conclusion is that Mirae is looking to shake things up for whatever reason but from the outside looking in, it does not make much sense,” he said.
“Global X still has a tremendous opportunity to leverage their brand and thematic expertise moving forward, but this C-suite exodus will raise some questions in the shorter term.”
Rohan Reddy, director of research at Global X, who joined in 2015 when the assets were at $3bn, has seen the evolution from what he says felt like a start-up to a more diverse operation of more than 150 employees.
Reddy said Mirae, which has $600bn global assets under management, including $120bn ETF assets, has always given Global X autonomy.
“The reason they acquired us is they were looking for a good opportunity to enter the US asset management space,” he said.
“They were not well known at the time for US operations, and they wanted to get in through a firm like Global X, and they wanted us to continue driving the agenda for growth.”
In addition to Global X, Mirae has ETF businesses in India, Vietnam, South Korea, Canada and Australia, and all indications are that Mirae is still determined to take a hands-off approach to Global X.
Scott Helfstein, head of investment strategy at Global X, who joined two years ago, also sees the opportunities in front of the company.
“The garage band phase is over. We are now a major player in the ETF space,” he said. “It is sad when you see people move on for all sorts of reasons, but in a reorganisation, oftentimes, leaders reevaluate what they have.”
This article was originally published on ETF.com
