Citi’s Longley Joins BGI

Barclays Global Investors announced in February it had hired longtime Citi/Smith Barney executive John Longley as its new head of national accounts in the U.S.

In that role, Longley will set the strategic direction and lead a team to expand iShares ETF distribution through partnerships with national and regional banks and brokers, according to the company.

Longley has a background in distribution and customer relations management stretching back 20 years. He joined Smith Barney in 1993 and moved up from a branch to regional and divisional director for the firm. Longley has worked in the U.S. as well as abroad, and last year was named chief executive of Citi’s private banking operations in the U.S. and Canada. His responsibilities also were expanded to include Citi global wealth management’s domestic lending services and its capital strategies unit.

The selection of Longley figures to reinforce BGI’s strategy of moving deeper into the institutional marketplace with its ETF business. Last year, it hired the leading global researcher in the exchange-traded marketplace, Deborah Fuhr. She had been a pioneer in developing and analyzing exchange-traded investment products for Morgan Stanley’s institutional clients.

Goldman’s Hill Joins ProFunds

Joanne Hill, formerly managing director with Goldman Sach’s Pensions, Endowments and Foundations Group, joined the fast-growing leveraged/inverse funds provider ProFunds in February.

In her new role as ProFunds’ head of investment strategy, Hill will develop and research novel investment strategies that incorporate ProFunds mutual funds and ProShares ETFs. She reports to Steve Cohen, managing director and head of ProFunds’ brand-new strategy group.

Hill serves on the editorial boards of both the Financial Analysts Journal and the Journal of Indexes. Her research has been published widely in such publications as FAJ, the Journal of Portfolio Management and the Journal of Trading. A board member and head of the research committee for the Q Group, Hill also has previously served as a member of the Standard and Poor’s, Russell and Financial Times index committees.