(Bloomberg) -- OppenheimerFunds hired Sharon French to build the firm's smart beta business, one of the hottest growth areas for money managers seeking to expand their foothold in ETFs.
French, who joins from BNY Mellon, will be head of beta solutions, the money manager said Monday in a statement. She previously worked at BlackRock and AllianceBernstein.
OppenheimerFunds joins Fidelity Investments, Legg Mason and Goldman Sachs Group in seeking to attract money into smart beta, index-tracking funds which weigh securities by factors other than market capitalization, such as dividends, volatility, value and momentum. Smart-beta styles underlie about one in five ETFs globally with an estimated $400 billion under management.
OppenheimerFunds, which is owned by Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance, has been expanding through acquisitions. The firm bought VTL Associates in December as part of a push into ETFs and purchased SteelPath in 2012 to expand into funds that bet on energy infrastructure through master limited partnerships.
OppenheimerFunds manages more than $214 billion.
