Jay Baker, now director of capital markets at Exchange Traded Concepts, an ETF issuer, says he put forward his daughter’s name. “They needed some names,” said Baker. “I think somebody said ‘Would you volunteer your daughter?’ and obviously she didn’t have a say in it -- and I was fine with it. It was just part of the process.”
One of the few non-AMEX-related people mentioned in SPY’s documents is Elizabeth Angel, an Atlanta-based engineer, and daughter of Jim Angel, a renowned finance professor at Georgetown University.
SPY isn’t the only ETF set up in this way. Seven other funds were also set up as unit investment trusts, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. And at least three of them include a provision relating to human lifespans.
Of course, with the oldest of the ‘SPY 11’ not yet 30, anyone who invests in, or trades, the ETF has a while to work out an alternative. But it’s a quirky reminder of how the ETF industry started out.
“I’m honored to be part of it and how we’re tied together on this is, I think, pretty special,” said Emily Weber, 26, who works in enterprise sales in New York. “I’m proud of the way it’s gotten to this point. I’m happy for everyone who was working on it.”
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.