ProFund Advisors has grabbed instant credibility for its ETF efforts with one hire from State Street. The trader-friendly fund firm has hired Agustin "Gus" Fleites as its chief investment officer and head of Exchange-Traded Funds.

Until May, Fleites had been the public face for State Street Global Advisors (SSgA's) exchange-traded funds products as the product line's marketing head. He was a senior principal and president of SSgA Funds Management as well as a managing director for SSgA's Advisor Strategies unit.

SSgA named Jim Ross and Greg Ehret as co-heads of its ETF business in the wake of Fleites departure.

Fleites will start at the Bethesda, Maryland-based ProFunds on August 29 and report to Michael Sapir, chairman and CEO. Among his responsibilities will be the oversight of ProFund's 90 mutual funds and its ETF initiatives.

"We're delighted to welcome to our leadership team a professional of Gus's passion, drive and vision," said Sapir in a statement. "It is rare to find someone with his range and depth of experience in ProFunds' core business of managing index-based mutual funds. Moreover, he is one of the country's recognized leaders in the exchange-traded funds industry. There's no individual better suited to assist us in meeting the needs of our investors, unleashing the unlimited potential of ETFs, and growing the company." 

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