Francis G.
Exchange Traded Funds Expert
Professional Value
Francis is an ETF specialist who helps UK financial advisers equip private investors with diversified, low‑cost asset exposure. He authored a concise ETF guide covering structures, fees and tax treatment and draws on more than ten years of training and support for Reuters and the Financial Times, enabling advisers to launch ETF strategies for pension savers.
Executive Profile
Francis studied modern history at the London School of Economics and has many years of experience working for legal and financial publishers, including Reuters, the Financial Times, and Butterworths. He has written on overseas property investment and created financial literacy training materials. The interaction of politics and finance is a particular interest for him.
Training & Research Experience: Francis's background is in online information retrieval for professional users. He has over ten years of experience in providing support to clients of information services for companies such as Reuters, the Financial Times, and LexusNexus.
Experience of training has included one-to-one or small group sessions at client premises, as well as speaking to groups of 12 to 14 in structured training sessions. Francis also has experience of creating training materials.
Approach to Exchange Traded Funds: The ETF concise guide is aimed at financial advisers and looks at exchange-traded funds mainly from a UK and European point of view. It also covers the origins of this type of fund in North America.
Francis firmly believes that ETFs will become more important in the next few years and that they are an invaluable tool for private investors and their advisers, opening up new asset classes such as emerging markets. Longer-term investors and pension savers, in particular, will benefit from ETF investments. However, both advisers and their clients need to be aware of the different facets of ETF investing to draw the greatest benefit from them.
These aspects of ETFs that merit closer study include:
- ETF structures
- ETF fees and costs
- an appreciation of the different kinds of asset and index that ETFs track
- ETFs and liquidity
- ETF currencies
- the tax status of ETFs
- ETF information sources
- ETF risks
- the more advanced or complex types of ETFs and when to be wary of them
Core Competencies
Adult Learning
Francis has experience in adult learning through one-to-one training and coaching.
He has also trained small and medium-sized groups, both formally and informally.
Francis is skilled in writing training course materials and providing telephone assistance and coaching.
Additionally, he has written explanatory guides and textbooks.
Communication
Francis possesses strong communication skills, with experience in help desk work, writing articles, and book writing.
He is also adept at public speaking, having spoken to groups of various sizes.
Francis's writing experience includes daily or weekly blogs, making him a versatile communicator.
Finance, Financial Tools
Francis has expertise in finance and financial tools, particularly in Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs).
He understands the workings of the City of London and the equity, fixed income, and commodities futures markets.
Francis is also knowledgeable about the UK and US legal and regulatory systems related to finance and investment, as well as the history of the western financial system.