Legg Mason Announces Hire Of Seasoned ETF Professionals

BALTIMORE, Feb. 18, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Legg Mason Inc., (NYSE: LM), today announced that the firm has hired Rick Genoni and Brandon Clark to lead the firm's strategy in the ETF product category.  The team joins Legg Mason from The Vanguard Group where they collectively had nearly 18 years of experience in the ETF business.  Mr. Genoni led Vanguard's Index and ETF product management team and Mr. Clark led Vanguard's ETF Capital Markets Group.

"Our product development agenda is driven by our clients' needs and preferences.  The ETF vehicle continues to evolve beyond the delivery of traditional index-based passive products and we want to have the ability to offer an ETF vehicle where it is beneficial to clients and consistent with our affiliates' existing investment process.  At the same time, we believe there is also significant opportunity to create innovative new products within the ETF structure to solve client needs," said Thomas Hoops, Executive Vice President of Business Development for Legg Mason.

Mr. Hoops continued, "Rick and Brandon's deep experience in this segment will allow them to work with our affiliates to identify the best opportunities in this growing segment.  They have also both successfully launched and grown an ETF product line within a traditional mutual fund firm and have experience in the educational partnership necessary for success with both distribution partners and clients." 

Rick Genoni said, "The opportunity to build a new business at a large, global asset management firm is a very exciting one.  Legg Mason, with its strong, investment oriented culture and exceptional investment affiliates, was an attractive partner.  Both we and Legg Mason are excited about the opportunities available for asset management firms to create innovative new ways to serve investors in an ETF structure."  

Both men have significant experience in structuring and creating innovative products, and working with regulators and other relevant parties to launch those products.  In their respective roles, they had responsibility for ongoing management of the firm's ETF lineup and index mutual funds and maintaining relationships with market makers, exchanges and other important capital markets stakeholders.  As part of each of their roles, they educated institutional and retail clients on using these products in portfolios and represented the firm on ETF market structure issues.

Background of Rick Genoni
Mr. Genoni has been with The Vanguard Group since 1991 in increasingly senior roles.  Recently, he was Principal and Global Head of Index and ETF Product Management and has led Vanguard's ETF effort in the US since 2004.  He chaired the Vanguard Global ETF Advisory Board, led Vanguard's global index and ETF product strategy, and was actively involved in setting Vanguard's international ETF strategy.  He publicly represented Vanguard with key industry stakeholders and was responsible for ongoing management of the firm's ETF lineup.  From 2001-2004, he was a senior analyst in the firm's Corporate Strategy team, analyzing new target markets and evaluating new products, partnerships and strategic opportunities.  He has held numerous leadership roles at Vanguard since 1991.  He holds a BS from LaSalle University and an Executive MBA from Villanova University. 

Background of Brandon Clark
Brandon Clark has spent nearly eight years in ETF product management for The Vanguard Group, most recently as Head of ETF Capital Markets covering the US, Canada and Latin America.  He was responsible for developing the firm's coverage strategy for sell-side ETF providers and worked with exchanges and other trading venues to enhance liquidity of Vanguard ETFs.  He also educated institutional clients, RIAs, financial advisors and other financial professionals on asset allocation strategies and trading of ETFs.  He has held numerous roles at Vanguard, including six years developing business and investment tools for Vanguard's advisor and institutional websites.  He began his career at PNC Bank in Pittsburgh.  He graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 1997 with a degree in Economics.

About Legg Mason
Legg Mason is a global asset management firm with $706 billion in assets under management as of January 31, 2015. The Company provides active asset management in many major investment centers throughout the world. Legg Mason is headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland, and its common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (symbol: LM).

SOURCE Legg Mason Inc.