The latest move in the game of musical chairs at exchange-traded funds provider XShares has placed Jeffrey Feldman, the company's founder and chief strategist, in the role of director and chairman of the TDX Independence Funds' board of directors.

The TDX Independence ETF fund family was started by XShares in conjunction with brokerage firm TD Ameritrade. The board oversight role for the TDX funds had formerly been occupied by Anthony Dudzinski, who left his position as chief executive of XShares Advisors in July.

The five TDX funds are notable for being the first family of target date exchange-traded funds in the market, and the first ETFs to hold both equities and bonds in a single portfolio.

XShares spokesperson Marsha Zapson said Feldman's new position with TDX is nothing new to him, as he has always had a lot of input into the TDX funds, starting with their creation.

"These are public funds and as such, need to have an elected board, and so this position needed to be filled as a result of Tony's resignation," she said.

Zapson added that the current focus for the TDX funds will not change, and will center on increased marketing.

CEO Update 

In terms of replacing Dudzinski in the CEO slot for XShares Advisors, Joseph Schocken, founder and president of Seattle-based merchant bank Broadmark Capital, is serving as interim CEO.

Zapson said that in all likelihood, a permanent replacement in the CEO slot will not be made before the end of the year.

Dudzinski left XShares, which he co-founded in 2006, to pursue other opportunities, though he remains in a consulting role with the company. Around the time of his departure, XShares also let go a large part of its sales force.

Dudzinski's resignation was not the only major leadership defection at XShares. At the end of the first quarter, William Henson, the parent company's CEO, left for an extended leave of absence after only five months on the job.

All the front-office shuffling comes amid tough times for the XShares portfolios in terms of market acceptance. Also in doubt is the firm's previously stated strategy of leveraging its ETF marketing expertise to partner with outside fund researchers and providers to bring new products into the exchange-traded marketplace.

XShares recently closed down its AdelanteShares family of seven real estate ETFs, which had accumulated only a total of $17 million in assets under management since launching in September 2007. The company has also moved to shutter 15 of its HealthShares ETFs due to a lack of asset gathering.

XShares still offers four healthcare-related funds, and at the time of the mass closing, revamped its remaining offerings in the sector.