Aasim Merchant

About Aasim Merchant

Aasim Merchant, CFA is an ETF and SMA Specialist at Transamerica Asset Management.In his role, Aasim is responsible for providing oversight and guidance to the portfolio management teams managing the ETFs and mutual funds. His role also includes presenting the performance of the ETFs to the Board of Trustees. He monitors the existing investment strategies and manager performance and focuses on volatility managed and target date funds.Prior to joining Transamerica, Aasim was a senior ETF portfolio management analyst for Invesco PowerShares Capital Management, LLC, a registered investment company, from 2014 to 2020. In his role, Aasim managed the international, domestic and international currency hedged equity portfolios and was involved with the daily management processes associated with them, including rebalancing the portfolios. His role also included determining the most tax efficient means to achieve the required portfolio changes while minimizing the fund tracking error within the stated regulatory and compliance requirements. He also worked closely with the trading desk to facilitate the trading of illiquid securities and determining the optimal execution strategy across international markets. Prior to joining Invesco PowerShares, Aasim was an ETF portfolio analyst at Guggenheim Funds Investment Advisors, LLC, from 2010 to 2014 where he managed both domestic and international equity ETFs. Prior to that, Aasim worked as an analyst at Houlihan Smith and Company, from 2008 to 2010. His responsibilities included valuing complex illiquid securities.Aasim holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. He earned the Master of Business Administration degree with a concentration in Finance from the University of Illinois at Chicago. He also earned the Master of Science degree specializing in Computer Engineering from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Experience

1. Portfolio Management

   Transamerica

   Jan 2020 — Present

   Provided senior level knowledge for complex ETFs after joining a developing DeltaShares ETF program• Developed an effective sub-advisory monitoring system that helped to reduce the tracking difference and tracking error of the ETFs• Advised the sub-advisor on how to tighten trade timing and execution by accounting for holidays which reduced the futures level in the ETFs• Adjusted the sub-advisor’s trading strategies which decreased the transactions costs • Provided daily oversight to a complex suite of funds and guidance to the sub-advisor’s portfolio management • Worked with the index provider to tighten file delivery to better align with trading holiday announcements• Trained the sub-advisor regarding how to utilize the new system to significantly reduce trade errors• Present the ETF performance to the Board of Directors with an emphasis on the sources of tracking difference and tracking error• Redesigning the reports and conveyed information critical to the Board about very complex funds in a simplified way. The Board found this format to be a substantial upgrade from their previous versions • Became the main spokesperson for the DeltaShares suite of funds to the ETF Board• Effectively responded to Board’s questions with skill and diplomacy and provided them with comfort with regards to the sub-advised model• Responsible for mutual fund portfolios with total assets of 12 billion USD• Conducted a successful manager search for a complex volatility managed mutual fund strategy of $6.4 billion USD and successfully helped the firm to replace the previous sub-advisor • Evaluated investment managers on both qualitative and quantitative factors and presented robust analysis achieving consensus and broad support for the recommendation • Identify and select new managers as required and monitor existing investment strategies and manager performance using Morningstar Direct • Produce 15c contract renewal materials for both the mutual funds and the ETFs

Education

• University of Illinois Chicago

  MS, Computer Engineering

• Sardar Patel University

  Bachelor of Science (BS), Information Technology

• University of Illinois Chicago

  MBA, Finance