Aberdeen Standard Investments (ASI) has started to ramp preparations for a push into the European ETF market with the appointment of Chanchal Samadder from Lyxor.
Reporting to Patrick Mattar, global head of ETFs, specialist distribution, at ASI, Samadder has taken on the role of head of ETF sales strategy, specialist distribution at ASI.
He spent eight years at Lyxor, most recently as head of ETF product strategy, a role he held for just over one year.
He joined the French asset manager from BlackRock in 2013 as head of UK and Ireland ETF sales before being promoted to head of equity ETFs in 2017.
At BlackRock, Samadder was based in the iShares division where he was responsible for UK institutional sales between 2008 and 2012.
His appointment signals ASI’s plans to roll out ETFs this side of the pond, a move that has been expected for some time now given the firm’s $10bn index business in Europe and ETF house in the US.
ASI entered the ETF industry in 2018 following the acquisition of ETF Securities’ US business which currently has $6bn assets under management (AUM).
A spokesperson from ASI told ETF Stream: “Work is underway to build upon this success, by delivering our research and analytical strengths via ETFs.
“Furthermore, our Quantitative Investment Solutions team currently manages a range of products with a combined AUM of £50bn. Again, this is a base to build upon, and in doing so provides investors with a greater choice of solutions.”
Standard Life Aberdeen: The next major ETF issuer in Europe?
Samadder’s appointment comes after Standard Life Aberdeen CEO Stephen Bird told Bloomberg of plans to ensure the asset manager meets client demand.
“We can either buy proprietary ETF technology, buy an ETF business or build it,” Bird said. “You have to be able to provide a full suite of solutions to your clients.”
