iShares hires APAC markets and investments lead

BlackRock's iShares has hired a Goldman Sachs executive to bolster its ETF business in the Asia Pacific.

Nicholas Peach has been appointed APAC head of markets and investments for iShares and index investments based in Hong Kong.

He spent almost 17 years at Goldman Sachs, most recently as managing director of equities electronic trading.

There, Peach led client coverage, product development, engineering, execution consultation and execution risks teams in the Asia Pacific.

Before that, he was head of the algo development micro franchise strategy group at Goldman Sachs, where he was responsible for the design and implementation of multiple projects across the region.

He also served as co-chair of the Asia Securities Division Automated Trading Controls Committee and is a member of the Securities Division Automated Trading Controls and Asia Pacific Global Markets Division Best Execution Committees.

Peach joined Goldman Sachs in 2006 as an analyst in New York, relocated to Hong Kong in 2010 and was named managing
director five years later.

BlackRock's APAC head of iShares and index investments Peter Loehnert said Peach's experience would help drive initiatives that support the evolution of the iShares platform and the regional ETF ecosystem.

"In turn, our clients will benefit from increased convenience, affordability, transparency and resilience of our iShares and index investments."

Said Samara Cohen, global CIO for iShares and index investments:"Nicholas's deep understanding of client needs and market structure in the Asia Pacific will be a powerful addition to accelerating the team's core mission of continuing to deliver superior market quality ETFs to investors of all types in the region and beyond."