HANetf, Europe’s first full service third-party ETF platform, completes oversubscribed seed funding round
- HANetf expects to support more
than 100 ETFs in the next 5-7 years
- Recent acquisitions of Source and
ETF Securities’ ETF business leaves HANetf as Europe’s only independent ETF
white label provider
- E&Y ETF survey expect that
most asset managers will have an ETF in the next 5 years with ETF AUM expected
to double over the same period
London, 20 November, 2017 — HANetf
Limited (“HANetf”), Europe’s first independent full services third party
provider of UCITS Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), has completed a seed funding
round which was significantly oversubscribed.
HANetf will provide a turnkey
solution for the growing number of US and Asian ETF issuers and traditional
asset managers seeking to enter the ETF market in Europe, through an innovative
platform which offers services including product development, compliance, operations,
capital markets, sales, marketing and distribution.
HANetf has been founded by Hector
McNeil and Nik Bienkowski, who are among Europe’s leading ETF entrepreneurs.
The pair helped found and establish ETF Securities before founding and
launching Boost ETP, which later became WisdomTree Europe – which they led
until May 2016 – following its acquisition by WisdomTree in 2014. Between those
three firms, the founders of HANetf have built almost every type of exchange
traded product conceivable including: ETFs and ETPs, physical and synthetic,
smart beta, equities, fixed income, commodities, leveraged and unleveraged.
This funding support from HANetf’s
new shareholders will enable the company to aggressively grow its business
across platform development, staff, client acquisition and marketing.
“Our goal is to become a new force
in ETF innovation in Europe by helping clients enter the space efficiently and
without having to commit to running full-scale ETF businesses, thus
significantly lowering barriers to entry,” said Hector McNeil, Founder and
Co-CEO of HANetf. “With the recent acquisitions of Source by Invesco and
Canvass by LGIM, HANetf will be the only independent provider in Europe focused
on launching ETFs for third-party asset managers. The success and purchase of
both businesses reinforces the demand for innovative, cost and time efficient
solutions for asset managers seeking to enter the European ETF market.”
Nik Bienkowski, Founder and Co-CEO of HANetf
added: “Since creating the concept, we have made significant progress toward
setting up our platform to be open for business and this round of funding will
help us rapidly scale the business and onboard clients.” “We believe that every
asset manager needs an ETF product strategy and some form of ETF offering
within the next five years. As a result, HANetf expects to support more than
100 ETFs in the next 5-7 years. After helping to bring numerous investment
products to investors for the first time, HANetf is now looking forward to
assisting the next wave of asset managers to issue new and innovative ETFs.”
Key investors in the funding round for HANetf include Peter Thompson,
co-founder of SourceETF; Point72 Ventures,the early-stage venture capital
strategy funded by Steve Cohen; and Elkstone, a European Multi-Family Office
with a significant heritage in early-stage venture investment. FinRes provided
corporate finance advice on the funding round, and Irwin Mitchell provided
legal advice.