Deborah Fuhr, who headed BlackRock’s ETF research effort through the middle of 2011, helped launch ETF Global Insight, a London-based research and consultancy firm focused on the exchange-traded fund industry.
In an e-mail, Ms. Fuhr said she and two colleagues — Shane Kelly, who served as a vice president and investment strategist at BlackRock, and Matthew Murray, a former analyst on Ms. Fuhr’s ETF team — are all “partners in the firm.”
A news release said the firm will focus “on providing thought leadership; publishing independent research on the industry, products, applications, competitor analysis; providing education and assistance to investors on product comparison, asset allocation implementation and offering customized research.”
Ms. Fuhr resigned as managing director and global head of BlackRock’s ETF research and implementation strategy in July. Messrs. Kelly and Murray left the firm within months of Ms. Fuhr’s departure, confirmed BlackRock spokesman Brian Beades.
At the time, BlackRock spokeswoman Caroline Hancock said the firm’s newly launched BlackRock Investment Institute would provide ETF research going forward, with Russ Koesterich, global chief investment strategist for the firm’s iShares ETF platform, helping to set the research agenda.
