ETF Securities has named Kris Walesby as its new European head of capital markets, a role in which he is charged with managing the firm’s relationships with the market-maker community with a view to improving its products.

Walesby joins the firm from iShares, the ETF business of the US asset manager BlackRock, where he held the similar role of capital markets business development officer.

Commenting on the appointment, Mark Weeks, partner at ETF Securities, said the hire was part of the firm’s commitment to make its products more efficient and liquid, and that Walesby’s relationships with market-makers clients would ultimately benefit clients.

ETF Securities’ assets under management were $24 billion at 30 November, having grown from $17 billion at the start of the year.

During the summer ETF Securities listed 22 new exchange-traded commodity funds on the London Stock Exchange, including four with exposure to emerging market currencies.