NTree International, a firm involved in the distribution of ETFs, has hired Brendan Mueller as head of Greater China to help develop its business in the region.

Fluent in Mandarin, Mr Mueller is the first foreigner to work at a Chinese futures exchange, the only foreigner globally to have worked at two Chinese futures exchanges, and has over ten years of experience in China's financial markets spanning FICC asset classes.

Prior to joining NTree, Mr Mueller was SVP head of global institutional clients at China Financial Futures Exchange (CFFEX), where he oversaw all aspects of global client interactions with the exchange. Before that he headed up the funds business at the German-Sino joint venture in Frankfurt - China Europe International Exchange, focusing on China-based asset managers' launch and listing of funds products in Europe.

The growing appetite for Chinese asset classes on the global investment stage is highlighted by new research NTree recently conducted with 150 European institutional investors and wealth managers with a combined AUM of $292.8 billion. It shows three quarters (75 percent) expect foreign investment into Chinese equities to increase and 63% expect increased investment into China’s fixed income market.

Tim Harvey, CEO of NTree International said: “We have built a strong reputation for our expertise in the investment opportunities in the Chinese market. Brendan is a key strategic hire for us as we seek to build our relationships with China-based asset managers and support them across Europe. Our research shows that there’s increasing demand for access to Chinese asset classes managed by on-shore investment experts.”