Based in Hong Kong, he will be responsible for ETF distribution across the APAC ex-Japan region and report to Damien Mooney, head of APAC ex-Japan.
This will see him lead the distribution and strategic positioning of Fidelity’s ETF products across the region and work closely with its ETF product teams and sales teams to drive client engagement and build out the division in the region.
Fidelity runs five active ETFs in Australia covering Australian equities, global equities, Asian equities, Indian equities, and global emerging markets equities. These were launched last June after the firm said it had experienced “growing demand for accessible and flexible investment solutions” from its Australian clients.
Taw previously spent a decade at BlackRock in a variety of roles, including two years as head of investment strategy for APAC for index and active funds and time spent working on investment strategy for its ETF and Index Investments (EII) business. Prior to joining BlackRock, he spent two years working at Macquarie Group.
Mooney said: “The ETF market has grown significantly in recent years and we increasingly see investors in Asia Pacific keen to take advantage of the benefits of active management within ETF vehicles.
“Tom’s deep expertise in ETFs and his proven track record in building businesses across Asia will be instrumental as we expand our ETF offering to meet the evolving client needs in the region.”
Last week, it was announced that funds under management in Australian ETFs had surpassed $300 billion for the first time, with 400 ETFs listed on the ASX.
Andrew Campion, general manager of investment products and strategy at ASX, said: “We’ve seen extraordinary momentum across the exchange-traded fund market, and investors are increasingly using ETFs to access a broad range of investment strategies and asset classes from international equities and fixed income through to alternatives.
“What previously took years to achieve is now being realised in just months, driven by increasing investor demand, diversified offerings and strong trading volumes.”
