ICAP has appointed Jan de Smedt as global head of indices.
Based in London and reporting to Kevin Taylor, head of ICAP information services (IIS), de Smedt’s role is to develop and expand the index business within information services.
His focus will be on increasing the number of ICAP indices linked to exchange-traded products, mutual funds and derivative products as well as growing the calculation services and data sales business worldwide.
De Smedt previously worked at S&P Dow Jones Indices as senior director licensing and sales within the firm’s client coverage group in London. His prior career has spanned commodity trading as well as fund management sales.
ICAP has recently launched, with partners, a number of trade-backed volume-weighted indices in response to demand from the market for more transparent benchmarks that are fully auditable. RepoFunds Rate and iRepo reflect a market progression from unsecured to secured forms of funding. These indices are calculated from actual trades made on centrally cleared regulated trading systems. The Tankard Index was also launched following demand for increased transparency in the UK and European gas markets.
IIS sits within ICAP’s post trade risk and information division which provides services that enable customers to reduce cost and risk, as well as to increase efficiency, return on capital and capacity to process trades.
Mark Beeston, chief executive of portfolio risk services, says: “Our Index business is a cornerstone of ICAP’s information services offering. We’ve positioned it to capitalise on forthcoming market and regulatory developments. Jan’s appointment underscores our commitment and focus in developing this growing area and I welcome him to ICAP.”
