Mirae Asset Global Investments appoints Global Head of ETF Sales & Marketing

TORONTO, July 25, 2012 /CNW/ - Mirae Asset Global Investments ("MAGI") has appointed Howard J. Atkinson as the Global Head of ETF Sales and Marketing for MAGI's rapidly growing international ETF business.

Mr. Atkinson is currently the President of Horizons ETFs Management (Canada) Inc. ("Horizons Canada"), which is headquartered in Toronto, Canada and is a subsidiary of MAGI.  Mr. Atkinson will remain President of Horizons Canada, but in addition to that role, he will formally oversee the sales and marketing initiatives of MAGI's global ETF business, which operates from offices in Australia, Canada, Hong Kong , Korea and most  recently, the United States, where regulatory filings have been made with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to launch ETFs. Mr. Atkinson will be responsible for overseeing global marketing projects and rebranding efforts across all ETF product suites.

Mr. Atkinson has 25 years of investment management industry experience and is a globally recognized ETF expert and educator. He joined Horizons Canada as Executive Vice-President in October 2006 and has led that firm's significant growth in assets from $100 million to approximately $3.4 billion as of June 30, 2012. Mr. Atkinson sits on the board of directors of BetaShares Capital, which is based in Australia and is a subsidiary of Horizons Canada. Prior to joining Horizons Canada, Howard was responsible for the exchange traded products business at Barclays Global Investors Canada Limited (iShares Canada). Mr. Atkinson is a regular media presence in Canada and is the current Chair of the Canadian ETF Association.

Mr. Atkinson is the author of four books including The New Investment Frontier III: A Guide to Exchange Traded Funds for Canadians, (Insomniac Press, 2005) and "Les Fonds Négociés en Bourse: Un outil de placement novateur pour l'investisseur avisé" (Transcontinental, 2003).

"Howard's wealth of experience will be essential as we strive to achieve our vision to create the largest independent exchange traded fund manager globally by delivering passive and active mandates in multiple asset classes across international markets - offering choice and flexibility to every investor," said Taeyong Lee, President of MAGI's Global Business Unit and ETF Business Unit.

About Horizons ETFs Management (Canada) Inc. (www.horizonsetfs.com)

Horizons Canada is an innovative financial services company offering the Horizons ETFs family of ETFs. The Horizons ETFs family includes a broadly diversified range of investment tools with solutions for investors of all experience levels to meet their investment objectives in a variety of market conditions. With more than $3.4 billion in assets under management and 81 ETFs listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange as of June 30, 2012, the Horizons ETFs family makes up one of the largest families of ETFs in Canada. Horizons Canada is a member of the Mirae Asset Global Investments Group.

About BetaShares ETFs (www.betashares.com.au)

BetaShares ETFs are Australian domiciled exchange traded funds which trade on the Australian Securities Exchange, and are bought and sold by investors like shares. The BetaShares ETFs allow investors to track the performance of a range of market indices and asset classes. Based in Australia, BetaShares Capital is a majority owned subsidiary of Horizons Canada and a member of the Mirae Asset Global Investments Group.

About Mirae Asset Global Investments  (www.miraeasset.com)

Mirae Asset Global Investments provides active and passive investment management solutions to clients around the world.  Known as one of the world's largest investment managers in emerging market equities (source: Investments & Pensions Europe, January 2012), Mirae Asset also invests client assets in a broad range of asset classes, through a comprehensive set of investment products.  With over 650 employees, including more than 135 dedicated investment professionals, Mirae Asset has offices in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Hong Kong, India, Korea, Taiwan, the U.K., the United States and Vietnam. Headquartered in Seoul, the firm manages over $52 billion in assets globally, of which more than $19 billion is invested in emerging market equities (as of March 31, 2012). Mirae Asset Global Investments (USA) LLC is a registered investment adviser focused on providing equity and fixed income investment advisory services to mutual funds, exchange traded funds, foreign investment trusts and institutions.

SOURCE: Horizons ETFs Management (Canada) Inc.

Mark Noble
Communications & Public Relations
Horizons Exchange Traded Funds Inc.
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