Herb Blank is a senior consultant and practice leader in the Global Finesse Product Strategy and Implementations Consulting Practice. He has more than 30 years of experience in financial product innovation and quantitative analysis.  Recognized as a pioneer in the ... more

Herb Blank is a senior consultant and practice leader in the Global Finesse Product Strategy and Implementations Consulting Practice. He has more than 30 years of experience in financial product innovation and quantitative analysis.  Recognized as a pioneer in the Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) industry, Herb established the first family of ETFs to trade on the NYSE and was portfolio manager for the fund. Herb is credited with the product development and launch of iShares, GLD, and X Shares.  He is also well known for his development of the construction and maintenance methodologies for Dow Jones Global Indexes.

Herb has considerable experience in working with unconventional and alternative data sets and applying them to investment applications.  His work in developing SRI and ESG indexes and portfolios since 1987 fall into this category.  He also assisted Thomson Reuters for the creation and maintenance of the Thomson Reuters Corporate Responsibility Ratings and Indexes and worked with theory founder Dr. Steve Ross to create and manage APT-driven factor portfolios a forerunner of today’s smart Beta indexes and ETFs.

Firms that have engaged Herb’s expertise include: Brand Loyalties; Haugen Equity Signals; James Investment Research; Exponential ETFs; Deutsche Bank; NYLIM; Thomson Reuters; NYSE; UBS; Morningstar; S-Network Global Indexes; World Gold Council; BGI (now part of Blackrock); Rapid Ratings International; XShares; and Fidelity Bank (now part of Wells Fargo).

Herb frequently publishes industry white papers and articles, and is credited with having a large network of institutional investment professionals, RIAs, and wealth managers. Mr. Blank also serves as Steering Committee chairman for QWAFAFEW, an industry society for quantitative analysis and investment professionals.  His MBA in Finance is from NYU Stern; his BA in Mathematics is from University of Pennsylvania.