WisdomTree (NasdaqGM: WETF), the fifth-largest U.S. ETF issuer, will expand its presence in Europe with acquisition of a majority stake in Boost, a boutique provider of inverse and leveraged ETFs.
New York-based WisdomTree will provide a $20 million investment to fund a four-year European expansion and WisdomTree Europe will be formed to house the WisdomTree and Boost product families, according to a statement.
That investment allows WisdomTree to acquire 75% of Boost with the remaining 25% to be acquired at the end of four years. The deal is expected to be closed in the first half of this year. Boost is run by Hector McNeil and Nik Bienkowski, former managing partners at ETF Securities.
“We continue to successfully execute our growth plans in the U.S., the world’s largest ETF market, and today’s announcement marks the latest in a series of measured steps we have taken to participate in global ETF market growth,” said WisdomTree CEO and President Jonathan Steinberg in the statement.
WisdomTree does have a presence in some markets outside the U.S., including Japan and Mexico. Additionally, the company is one of the largest U.S. operators in Chile where pensioners can invest in U.S. ETFs. The company offers 13 ETFs there. [Latin America: A New Frontier for ETF Industry Growth]
WisdomTree, the only publicly traded pure play ETF issuer, sponsors 61 funds and has $33.7 billion in assets under management.
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