Alex is Ukrainian-born and moved to Sydney in 1994 at the age of 16, unable to speak English. In the past two decades, he has graduated with a double degree in finance and law from the University of NSW. Also worked alongside Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull at venture capital firm Turnbull Pillemer Capital. He was also involved in the establishment and development of several leading Australian financial services businesses, including Pengana Capital and Centric Wealth. Alex co-founded BetaShares, which is a leading manager of exchange traded funds (ETFs). The success of BetaShares lies in its ability to craft ETFs based on gaps in the market, demonstrated by a large number of ‘firsts’ in the Australian ETF market (for example, the first cash ETF trading on the ASX). Alex is able to discuss a range of trends in the Australian ETF market: Why are ETFs so popular for investors? Millennials are ploughing funds into ETFs. (Investment Trends found that 35,000 millennials in Australia are planning to invest in ETFs in the next year.) ETFs are low cost (BetaShares recently launched the world’s lowest cost Australian shares ETF - only 0.07% of annual management fees). Ethical investing is another area for which investors can use ETFs. (Investors can invest in ethical ETFs, which use eligibility screens in accordance to Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) considerations.)