Russell Investments has strengthened its global ETF team with the appointments of James Polisson as managing director of the ETF business and Andrew Arenberg as managing director of ETF distribution.

Both Messrs Polisson and Arenberg come from BGI's global iShares business. Mr Polisson was previously the chief marketing officer for the said unit, while Mr Arenberg most recently was the managing director for the global eBusiness arm. The Australian financial services firm already has existing licensing agreements with iShares and other key ETF sponsors.

"For 75 years Russell has consistently delivered innovative solutions to meet investors’ needs; and as the ETF industry progresses, we are examining how we can bring our unique insight and strong research capability to add value for investors in the ETF space," said Andrew Doman, the chief executive officer and president of Russell, in a statement yesterday.

The global ETF industry has been gaining popularity over the past year as more investors shift assets from traditional funds into the lower-cost ETF models. To date, the entire space is worth $1 trillion. According to the 2009 report by State Street Global Investors, global ETF assets under management had grown 31 per cent in the 9 months to September 30 to $933 billion, with the Asia-Pacific region accounting for 7 per cent, or $62 billion, of this total.

The recent appointments come at the best time for Russell, with Asia-Pac ETFs exhibiting the strongest growth rate than any other region, having gone up 50 per cent during the said period.