Brian Jacobs, the newly appointed Direxion president, already has big plans - lots of them - for the firm on his first day at the job.
For one thing, as the firm continues to expand into more alternative mutual funds and ETFs, he wants to build out the distribution force. He declined to say how many people Direxion would be looking to bring on, but said he'd be looking to "add individuals at field level and corporate national account level and those that have expertise in non-traditional strategies."
The $8 billion firm also has several new products in the works, which Jacobs declined to elaborate on for now, but said Direxion is considering active management.
Direxion has traditionally only managed passive strategies. Jacobs and Direxion have also been in talks with hedge funds and other alternative managers to bring them on in a sub-advisory role for new strategies. Alternative managers have historically been strong on investment performance but not as well versed in distribution, so putting them on Direxion's platform and distribution channels would be a win-win for both sides, Jacobs explained.
"There seems to be a real need for quality distribution talent and if we can provide that, we can become a very good partner for some strong institutional managers that can develop relationships in the retail world," Jacobs said.
Before Jacobs joined Direxion, Eric Falkeis held the title of both president and chief operating officer. Falkeis will now retain just the COO title. Jacobs was previously a partner at his own firm Jacobs Strategic Consulting, where he advised other managers on alternative and distribution partnerships, including the one Cliffwater and Virtus Investment Partners formed last fall. He was also previously the CEO of Hatteras and held other senior posts at Eaton Vance and Allianz/PIMCO.
