Raymond James Steps Into ETFs, Adds Mo Sparks as Head of Division

Raymond James Investment Management announced it is launching its first exchange-traded-fund product platform in 2025 and, as part of developing the platform, the firm has appointed Mo Sparks as head of exchange-traded funds, effective July 22.

Sparks will focus on building out the firm’s ETF platform for the investment management arm of the broker/dealer. Before joining Raymond James Investment Management, Sparks spearheaded the New York Stock Exchange’s new business development for ETFs, driving strategic initiatives and partnerships to promote industry growth, while also managing relationships with ETF issuers.

“We are excited Mo will be leading our expansion into the ETF space—one more avenue that we can provide as part of our overall goal to give broader choice to select, high-demand investment strategies,” said Bob Kendall, president of Raymond James Investment Management, in a statement.

Sparks had also worked at Vanguard, where he held various leadership roles in product management and strategy, overseeing the development and management of Vanguard’s global ETF and mutual fund offerings. He was a founding member of the global product management leadership team and served as head of product management shared services, where he focused on go-to-market strategies, product development and sales distribution for the global ETF business.

Although ETFs have become more popular among individual investors, they are not common in defined contribution plans, in part because they are subject to intra-day trading. The “2023 PLANSPONSOR Defined Contribution Benchmarking Report” found that 0.4% of retirement plans offer exchange-traded funds in their investment lineup.

There are increased efforts to include them. In September 2023, F/m Investments LLC, a subsidiary of Diffractive Managers Group LLC, sought to make an exchange-traded-fund series available to a wider swath of investors, including defined contribution plan participants, by getting them classified as mutual funds.

Industry experts says despite existing challenges, technology is catching up, and there is rising interest from younger and newer investors to include ETFs in their retirement plans.