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Flow Traders NV, Europe’s largest exchange-traded funds market maker, ousted its top UK executive after an alleged drunkenness incident in a London pub offended employees at its key trading partner BlackRock Inc., people familiar with the matter said.
Christopher Meyers, operations manager of Amsterdam-based Flow Traders in London, has left in recent months after an internal review of the episode, the sources said. The investigation was spurred by complaints about allegedly unprofessional behavior towards female BlackRock workers during the informal meeting, people said.
Meyers did not respond to repeated requests for comment. Flow Traders spokesperson Laura Peijs confirmed he is no longer working for the company and has been replaced by Simon Wynn-Davies, but declined to comment further. Ryan O’Keeffe, a spokesperson for BlackRock, also did not comment.
Many financial firms say they are taking a tougher line on misconduct as the City of London tries to dismantle a male-dominated culture that has been criticized by UK regulators. Institutions, including Lloyd’s of London insurance market, have banned alcohol consumption during the day, while allegations of sexist incidents continue to surface in prosecutions and investigations.
Meyers joined Flow Traders around 2011 and became Head of Daily Operations in London seven years later as part of his response to Britain’s exit from the European Union. The executive has been approved under the Financial Conduct Authority’s senior management and certification scheme, making it a key figure in its dealings with UK regulators.
Flow Traders and BlackRock have an important relationship. The Dutch company helps investors buy and sell shares of exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, of extremely popular listed entities that invest in baskets of stocks, bonds and other assets. The company describes itself as the “premier liquidity provider” for exchange traded products in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
BlackRock, meanwhile, is the world’s largest asset manager and a powerhouse in the ETF industry. The New York-based company oversees more than 600 billion euros ($ 682 billion) in European ETF assets, nearly half of the continent’s total, according to data from Bloomberg Intelligence.
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