British Firm to Launch ETFs on Cathie Wood's Ark Platform in Europe

The move is part of Arks' acquisition of Rize ETF, which is majority owned by R&M's parent company.

AssetCo-owned River and Mercantile Asset Management, a U.K.-based firm known as R&M, is set to launch ETFs on Ark Invest’s platform after Ark’s acquisition of Rize ETF.

As part of the deal, Cathie Wood's Ark Invest and AssetCo will partner on the launch of “several” River and Mercantile exchange-traded fund products on the ARK Invest Europe platform.

ARK Invest Europe will be the hub for the firm’s expansion into continental Europe, the U.K. and new markets globally.

AssetCo —which sold Rize ETF to Ark Invest—acquired River and Mercantile Group for $124 million in January 2022.

Following the deal, Martin Gilbert, executive chairman of AssetCo, said there was “material value” in leveraging other parts of the AssetCo, stating it could move some River and Mercantile strategies to ETFs.

Ark a "Successful ETF Player"

Commenting following the sale of Rize ETF, Gilbert said: “Ark is a committed and highly successful ETF player based in the U.S., and we are extremely pleased to have reached an agreement that maintains our interest in the growth of their business for a period and also to partner with them to launch our own ETF products, managed by River and Mercantile Asset Management.”

River and Mercantile Group houses 12 active mutual funds with $1.61 billion in assets under management.

AssetCo acquired a 63% stake in Rize ETF in July 2021 for $20 million.

The group wrote down the value of Rize ETF in June by roughly $6.2 million after stating the business was “materially behind plan”.