EQONEX strengthens Asset Management business in UK and Asia
Eqonex has announced key appointments in order to boost its asset management business in London and Hong Kong.
The digital assets financial services company has appointed Nick Cogswell as Head of Sales, Asset Management, based in London, and Franklin Heng as Head of Asset Management Asia, based in Hong Kong.
The firm is building its Asset Management business as part of its ambition to deliver a leading digital assets investment platform.
EQONEX Asset Management encompasses Investment Products, Structured Products, Bletchley Park, a fund of crypto hedge funds, and Lending.
Ambitious growth and expansion for EQONEX AM
Nick Cogswell joins EQONEX after running his own FCA-regulated investment advisory business and 20 years of experience in cross-asset derivatives sales and structuring, alternative investments, and global structured products at Jefferies, Santander, and Lehman Brothers.
Franklin Heng joins the firm after an eleven-year tenure as Managing Partner at Springboard Capital. Prior to that, he led Equity Derivatives and Structured Products Distribution for The Royal Bank of Scotland, based in Hong Kong, and led Asia Derivatives and Wealth Management Sales at HSBC.
Frank Copplestone, Head of Asset Management at EQONEX and former executive at Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank and Jefferies, said: “The last year has been a period of ambitious growth and expansion for Eqonex’s Asset Management business, with the listing of our first exchange-traded product in Germany, and the establishment of our strategic partnership with Binance Connect”.
“We see tremendous market opportunities across the globe in the digital asset investments space and we are working hard to become a preeminent Asset Management Platform. We are delighted to welcome Nick and Franklin to this growing, talented and highly experienced team. Their wealth of experience in asset management, equity derivatives and structured products will be invaluable in growing our Asset Management business.”
Nick Cogswell, Head of Sales, Asset Management at EQONEX, said: “I am thrilled to join Eqonex and look forward to leveraging my experience in traditional finance to harness the growing opportunities in the digital asset space. EQONEX is reputable in the marketplace for its highly experienced team, so I’m excited to join them in delivering Eqonex’s ambitious product roadmap across structured and investment products and also driving growth for Bletchley Park, the fund of crypto hedge funds.”
Franklin Heng, Head of Asset Management Asia at EQONEX, commented: “With regulation now finally becoming a reality, Eqonex’s commitment to compliance and security, as well as its status as a NASDAQ-listed company, puts it in an ideal position to further differentiate itself from the competition. I am excited to join the team during such an anticipated period of business growth and working with them to define best-in-class digital asset investment products for Eqonex’s clients.”
EQONEX launched Bitcoin ETN
The new hires follow a milestone for EQONEX, the launch of the firm’s first exchange-trade product: a Bitcoin Exchange Traded Note (ETN) on the Deutsche Börse XETRA Exchange.
The firm appointed Apex Group to provide SPV administration and trustee services to EQONEX’s Luxembourg platform as well as back-office administration support services reconciling the creation/sell activity for the notes issued.
Apex Group’s service includes operational, accounting, and administration services as well as trustee and agency services to support conventional or complex structured debt capital markets, and escrow and loan market transactions from initial set-up to maturity.
The EQONEX physically-backed Bitcoin ETN offers investors direct exposure to Bitcoin via an exchange-traded product and the benefit of free redemptions for the underlying Bitcoin and low management fees.
EQONEX has plans to list more ETNs in the coming months as it launched its Structured Products business.
