Russell Investments is conducting a strategic review of its U.S. exchange traded fund business and eliminating some jobs in the unit.
“During the strategic review, the investment management team responsible for the firm’s U.S. ETFs will remain in place, and the products will continue to pursue their respective investment objectives,” the firm said in a press release. “However, Russell is scaling back its dedicated U.S. ETF team, primarily based out of the firm’s San Francisco and New York City offices.”
Russell said it will announce more details after it completes the review.
The firm will cut about 30 jobs in the ETF unit, Bloomberg News reported.
At the end of July, Russell’s 25 ETFs held a total of $312 million in assets, according to ETF Industry Association data.
ETFs are a tiny portion of Russell’s $152 billion of assets under management. The firm also manages benchmarks that form the basis of outside-managed index funds and ETFs.
In related news, Scottrade subsidiary FocusShares this week said it will shutter its lineup of 15 ETFs after they failed to attract significant assets. [Scottrade to Close FocusShares ETFs]
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