Taking your ETF strategy to Europe

James is a Managing Associate at Simmons & Simmons, based in their Dublin office having joined the firm in 2021. Prior to this, James was a Senior Associate in the Asset Management Department of a top-tier Irish law firm. James focuses on the establishment, structuring, ongoing operation and regulation of UCITS, RIAIFs and AIFs (whether structured as ICAVs, public limited companies, limited partnerships, unit trusts or common contractual funds) for a wide variety of asset managers and investment banks and has extensive experience in the authorisation and approval of UCITS management companies, alternative investment fund managers and investment managers. James has completed secondments with both a large international service provider and a large international asset manager in Dublin, gaining extensive experience in non-Irish structures and the laws and regulations of off-shore jurisdictions. James has worked extensively on ETFs, and has established both active and passive ETF platforms including white-label platforms. James regularly speaks at ETF conferences, panels and industry roundtables regarding developments in the ETF-space, and market trends. James also advises on sustainability and ESG considerations for a wide variety of asset managers and institutional investors.

Josh began his career at Williams de Broe in 2005 before joining Master Capital, a fund of equity hedge funds. He left in 2012 to join Aurum, a fund of hedge funds, where he distributed both their offshore and UCITS offering. In 2017 he worked with Brook Green, a third-party marketing and distribution firm. In 2019 he joined EPIC Investment Partners as a partner and a member of the BD team. He left to join HANetf in January 2023. Josh is knowledgeable in both traditional and alternative asset classes. During his career he has distributed various hedge fund strategies, long only equity and fixed income funds (investing in both developed and emerging markets) and an array of private lending strategies.

Peter Diel, Head of Index Product, Europe • Leads index product innovation and partner strategy across Europe, helping asset managers develop custom Indexing solutions and navigate the full product lifecycle. • Over 20+ years of experience in Asset Management and Indexing, including leadership roles at Solactive and DWS Group where he managed institutional passive mandates.

Tony O’Brien serves as Chief Commercial Officer for our Irish business where he leads our business development and solutions efforts across our client base. He brings with him 25 years of experience in the offshore space where he has advised clients on the structuring of investment funds in all offshore jurisdictions including Ireland and Luxembourg. Tony has particular expertise in ETFs in Europe and was a lead member of the team that launched Europe’s first ETFs in 2000. Since then, Tony has driven thought leadership and spoken at numerous conferences and events on the topic. Tony is also experienced in establishing strategies as diverse as active UCITS, money market funds, alternatives, private equity and private debt.