Dallas-based investment management boutique, Westwood Holdings Group, is looking to make inroads in the ETF space and has brought on a former sales manager at Invesco ETFs to help.

The firm announced the hire of Chris Doran who will assume the role of head of ETF distribution and national accounts. His experience working with registered investment advisors and other intermediaries, including big wirehouses and mid-tier brokerages houses made him an ideal fit for the position, according to Brian Casey, CEO of Westwood.

“That’s not been where we’ve been traditionally so to bring on someone that has that contact list, we’re lucky to get him and we’re excited to see what sort of contribution he can make going forward,” he said, in an interview.

Doran’s extensive career in financial services spans 25 years, most recently serving as managing director at SEI, where he worked to establish relationships with key individuals and organizations.

In 2005, he joined PowerShares Capital Management ETFs (presently Invesco ETFs) to work as its eastern sales manager. There he helped the firm build and manage its sales team. He also served as head of PowerShares’ Capital Management National Retail Sales at Invesco, according to Westwood.

“I am excited to join the Westwood team and contribute to its long-standing legacy within the investment and wealth management space,” Doran said in a statement. “With the launch of Westwood’s first two ETFs this year, we are entering a new era for the company, and I am eager to play a key role in shaping and expanding this dynamic segment of our business.” 

Doran, who reports to Dave Linton, managing director and head of Distribution at Westwood, will be responsible for directing the sales and distribution efforts for Westwood’s current and future ETF business. In addition, in his role with national accounts he will seek approval at the home offices of large RIAs and broker- dealers for all Westwood products including ETFs. 

“He will play an important role in helping shape Westwood’s ETF product offerings moving forward, and in navigating the evolving ETF sales and distribution channels for advisors, institutional, and retail audiences,” Casey said.

The firm launched its first ETF in April with the Westwood Salient Enhanced Midstream Income ETF (MDST), and its second ETF, the Westwood Salient Enhanced Energy Income ETF (WEEI) in May.

The former is focused on the mid-stream energy market and provides a monthly dividend. The latter is more focused on traditional energy companies, which other more traditional ETFs have not invested in as efficiently, according to Casey.

“There’s a big pool of money in the traditional energy space in ETFs and that portfolio, we don’t think is well constructed as it could be [because] it’s very top-heavy,” he said. “If you own a traditional ETF that owns broad-based energy, you’re going to have half of your portfolio in four stocks.”

The new ETFs are part of the firm’s foray into the ETF market, according to Casey. Westwood plans to launch more products by early next year if not sooner. Given the number of ETFs already in the market, Westwood will be looking for those funds that allow it to differentiate itself in the market, Casey explained.

“It’s about finding the right products that resonate with the marketplace and that are unique and different,” he said. “We don’t want to roll things out just to roll things out [but] ... want to roll things out that are going to be successful.”