Investment management giant Robeco has announced the appointment of Nick King as Head of Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), in October, noting that as part of its 2021-2025 Strategy, Robeco is planning to expand its current investment capabilities with an ETF platform.
Robeco writes that Nick King brings valuable experience to the firm, having previously served in senior roles at Fidelity International and BlackRock, where he specialised in ETF product development, portfolio management, and distribution across various asset classes. King’s expertise will be key in steering Robeco’s development into the ETF market.
Ivo Frielink, Head Strategic Product & Business Development at Robeco, says: “We are very pleased to welcome Nick to Robeco as Head of ETFs. His extensive experience in ETFs and his commitment to innovation align perfectly with Robeco’s strategic vision and research-driven approach. We are confident that under Nick’s leadership, Robeco can successfully wrap its investment expertise and strategies into a comprehensive ETF lineup.”
Robeco writes that ETFs have been under consideration at the firm for a while, given their growing popularity and versatility in the investment landscape. Robeco recognises that ETFs present a major opportunity to package strategies, complementing existing capabilities offered through mutual funds and mandates.
Nick King, incoming Head of Exchange Traded Funds at Robeco, says: “I am delighted to join Robeco during this pivotal moment in its journey into the ETF market. I look forward to leading the charge, and leveraging my experience to drive innovation and success in this rapidly evolving space. Together with the talented team at Robeco, I am confident that we can make a meaningful impact on the future of ETFs.”
Nick King’s new position of Head of ETFs at Robeco as Head of ETFs has been created within the organisation as it explores and prepares to launch ETFs – a new endeavour for the company. His previous experience within the ETF space will prove to be very valuable, the firm says.
The firm adds that Robeco is constantly seeking ways to expand the delivery of its investment strategies and innovate. “ETFs are one such opportunity to achieve both. Given their advantages as compared to mutual funds, we expect ETFs to become a preferred vehicle for investors in the long run. Offering both mutual funds and ETFs will position us up for long-term competitiveness and increase our ability and flexibility to serve clients.”
Commenting on Robeco’s commitment to active management, the firm writes that the notion that ETFs are strictly passive is often misconceived. “Ultimately, ETFs are simply another vehicle to wrap intellectual property, whether that be via passive or active strategies. Managers globally have been coming to market with ETFs to package active strategies. While the active ETF market in Europe may still be nascent, we believe Robeco can capture significant growth as an early adopter and provide differentiated products compared with existing ETFs, especially given our SI expertise.”
Robeco is working to launch its first ETF in the second half of 2024. The firm adds that: “As a complement to mutual funds, the ETF platform will be built to, in time, service all possible Robeco strategies, including within equities, multi asset and fixed income. We will likely also use the ETFs to package Robeco indices.
“Exact strategies to be wrapped are still to be determined; however the focus is that the ETFs will wrap Robeco intellectual property in line with our key strengths of sustainability, quant investing, thematics, credits and emerging markets.”
