Bryon Lake Moving to Goldman Sachs after JPMorgan Exit

Goldman Sachs Group Inc., in the midst of boosting its exchange-traded fund business, has hired JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s former head of ETFs Bryon Lake, sources familiar with the matter told etf.com.

Lake joins Goldman Sachs Asset Management this summer, in a broad role across the company's asset management business, the source said. The client-facing role will cover all of Goldman's investment capabilities, the source said.

Lake's arrival at Goldman would follow high-profile departures in Goldman's ETF business. In February Ryan O'Connor, who ran all aspects of its ETF product platform, departed to join rival ETF firm Global X as chief executive. Goldman's global ETF head Mark Crinieri, left earlier this year, the FT said.

New York-based Goldman Sachs has launched a handful of ETFs in the past year as well as starting a so-called accelerator aimed at helping other firms get their exchange-traded funds to market. The company, with $34 billion in 40 ETFs, is a top 20 ETF issuer, while JPMorgan, with $150.5 billion in 61 U.S. exchange-traded funds, is the sixth-largest issuer, according to etf.com data.

Lake led JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s ETF business for the past three years while its JPMorgan Equity Premium Income ETF (JEPI) soared in popularity. Goldman last year launched a pair of funds aimed at replicating JEPI's success. 

Lake had most recently overseen the growth of New York-based JPMorgan's active ETFs, as demand surges for that type of fund that typically charges higher fees than their passive counterparts. Active funds are grabbing customer assets from mutual funds, and in recent years have grown at 20% annually, according to Morningstar.

In October, it announced the launch of the JPMorgan Active Bond ETF (JBND), which has grown to $218.9 million in assets. Lake also announced in July that the company was converting four mutual funds to active ETFs. The conversions coincide with the company becoming the No. 1 firm year-to-date in net active flows across U.S. active ETFs, according to data from JPMorgan.  

Bloomberg Intelligence senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas yesterday said Lake had been on a hot streak with low-cost active funds, and another firm may be quick to grab him.

“If you were looking to lead your ETF business, he has to be on a very short list of people you think of,” he told Bloomberg News. “He really combined high-quality brand-name active for a more Vanguard-ian fee and that is a powerful combination.”

Vanguard Group, the No. 2 U.S. ETF issuer, on March 1 said that Chief Executive Officer Tim Buckley will retire from the company after six years in the role and 33 years at the asset manager.

Lake's LinkedIn page said he spent 7 years at JPMorgan, all of them in the ETF business, and most recently as Managing Director, Global Head of ETF Solutions. He was at Invesco for 11 and-a-half years before that. He earned a Bachelor's degree in International Business at Taylor University in Indiana in 2002.