03.25.24
Women Continue To Lead the Way in the ETF Industry
by: Jessica Tasman-Jones
Joanne Hill, who was lead exchange-traded fund (ETF) analyst at Goldman Sachs in the 1990s and later co-founded Women in ETFs, says there were many opportunities for women to make their mark on the ETF industry in the early days. “To me, the ETF industry was started by a woman,” she says. Hill is referring to the late Patricia Dunn, who was chief executive of Barclays Global Investors from 1995 to 2002 and who persuaded her board to launch in a full suite of ETFs. Thus, in 2000, the iShares ETF brand was born. And today, under BlackRock's ownership, it is the world's leading ETF business, by assets under management. “Men raise their hands and work in places that are already high profile and have large revenues,” says fellow Women in ETFs co-founder Deborah Fuhr, who runs ETFGI. “Women are more inclined to raise their hand and get involved with something that's new and developing.” In 2014, Hill and Fuhr were among five professionals who launched Women in ETFs, adopting the tagline “connect, support, inspire.” Their other co-founders were Sue Thompson, Michelle Mikos and Linda Zhang, who held senior positions at BlackRock, Invesco PowerShares and a financial advice firm, respectively. Now in its 10th year, the organization includes more than 10,000 members globally.
Read the full article on Financial Times