FTSE has lured a top executive from rival global index firm, MSCI, as director for its Australia and NZ operations.
In a statement, FTSE said ex MSCI executive director, Justin Walsh, has joined its Australian office “to help expand the business, as well as maintaining the high level of service already provided to clients”.
“The strengthening of the team reflects the continuing growth in popularity of passive investment management across the Australian and New Zealand market,” the statement said.
A FTSE spokesperson said both Walsh and national business development manager, Mo El-Assaad, would be making a few trips across the Tasman this year.
“We’ve got a few clients in NZ – but I can’t divulge who they are,” the spokesperson said.
Globally, investors manage about US$9 trillion marked to indices created by FTSE and its new relation, Russell. FTSE parent firm, the London Stock Exchange (LSE), bought the Frank Russell Company for about $US2.7 billion last year, primarily for the group’s burgeoning index business.
LSE is currently in talks to offload the Russell Investments arm, which provides multi-management and consulting services, for a reported US$1.5 billion.
Jessie Pak, head of FTSE Asia, said there were “significant growth opportunities for our business in Australia and New Zealand”.
“… particularly with increased demand for a diversified view of global infrastructure, which led to the enhancements in the FTSE Core Infrastructure Index,” Pak said in the statement