To lead the team, the company is relocating Fred Jheon from the Tokyo, Japan branch, where he serves as Asia-Pacific head. Nigel Phelan also moves from the Sydney office to become head of regional sales for ETFS.

Before Tokyo, Jheon was head of product and business development at ETFS in San Francisco and previously worked for Barclays Global Investors as an international portfolio manager. Phelan has been with the company since 2006 and spent time in London before relocating to Australia to set up the firm's business there in 2009.

ETF Securities is looking to build its Asian presence, starting with listings in Hong Kong and eventually Singapore. Media reports also say that the company has initiated talks with the China Securities Regulatory Commission about listing in Shanghai and setting up a joint venture in the future. The firm has yet to confirm these reports.

ETFS has around 200 products offered globally, most of which are based on the Dow Jones UBS index. It records US$27.8 billion in assets under management.