Direxion, the $39 billion asset manager known for its leveraged and inverse ETFs, has named Mo Sparks, most recently Raymond James Investment Management’s ETF chief, as chief product officer to oversee its products arm.
Sparks, who began March 24, is filling a new role at Direxion. He departs Raymond James after eight months, just a few months after the financial services firm filed to launch its first exchange-traded funds.
The New York Stock Exchange and Vanguard Group veteran joins Direxion as the U.S. ETF industry grows rapidly, reaching more than $10 trillion in assets in more than 4,000 funds. The market is also increasingly crowded and diverse, and product departments are pressured to find new and innovative funds that stand out from the pack and bring in new investors.
Sparks, based in the company’s Boston office, said he aims to “capitalize on the company’s leadership” in leveraged and inverse ETFs. He emphasized he’ll focus on investor education regarding those investments, which issuers and advisors typically caution are for use by sophisticated investors and not typical investors with buy-and-hold strategies.
“We’re leading with investor education so individuals know what they are getting,” he said in an interview. “Our products are not for all investors.”
Sparks’s hiring follows the November appointment of Doug Yones as New York-based Direxion’s chief executive officer. Both Yones and Sparks are veterans of the NYSE and Vanguard, the world’s second-largest ETF issuer.
He’s a Certified ETF Advisor and Clemson University graduate, according to a press statement. He said his parting with Raymond James was amicable and declined to provide details.
The company last month filed to launch 71 exchange-traded funds, including so-called single-stock ETFs tracking companies like Roblox Corp. (RBLX), PayPal Holdings Inc. (PYPL) and Shopify Inc. (SHOP), Bloomberg reported.
Direxion manages 103 ETFs. Its largest is the $7.1 billion Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bull 3x Shares (SOXL), one of the most actively-traded funds. It’s launched six ETFs so far this year, after launching 20 in 2024.
