How pace of ETF innovation drives award winner

“I find those very interesting and innovative,” said Bhandal. “But it’s the pace of launches that stands out the most from the last year because it was a very, very busy year.”

Bhandal started her career as an input operator in the Toronto Stock Exchanges’ futures pit, where she sat beside someone who traded futures on an index ETF. She then worked for Standard and Poor’s for a decade, where “I had the opportunity to really understand the entire business from front to back”. She developed relationships with ETF sponsors, then consulted briefly with Horizons while she had her own consulting firm and raised her family. She then helped Mackenzie launch its ETF business and headed up Canadian product development and strategy at Invesco Canada.

“ETFs brought a lot of options, transparency, and lower cost to investors,” she said. “So, it’s been very exciting to feel like I’ve been part of that in my various capacities.”

Bhandal is now in charge of Horizons’ operations, but still tangentially involved in product development. She’s particularly proud of its large, diverse product shelf. “We’re fourth in terms of AUM in the industry [in Canada],” she said. “We definitely punch above our size.”

Horizons’ president and chief executive officer Steve Hawkins recently confirmed the firm has about $22.8 billion assets under management (AUM) with $24.4 billion of AUM and assets under administration.