S&P Dow Jones Indices & HANetf Roundtable: Thematic ETF Strategies

S&P Dow Jones Indices (S&P DJI) and HANetf are pleased to invite you to an in-person roundtable exploring the next generation of thematic ETF strategies and how investors can identify, access, and size structural growth themes through transparent, rules-based indices.

With thematic investing continuing to evolve, S&P DJI is advancing index design using AI, machine learning, and natural language processing (NLP) to help detect emerging thematic exposures across global markets, expanding the toolkit available to ETF issuers and investors.

Agenda

• 8:30 am to 9:00 am – Coffee, tea, and pastries
• 9:00 am to 10:30 am – Roundtable discussion, presentations, and Q&A
• 10:30 am to 11:00 am – Networking

Topic:

• Defining a theme with precision: how structured “theme libraries” of terms and phrases can be used to train NLP models for systematic identification.
• From headlines to investable indices: building exposures to structural trends (e.g., cybersecurity, AI enablers, digital health) with repeatable, rules-based approaches.
• Improving transparency and efficiency: how advances in technology and data are shaping more scalable thematic index construction.

Speakers

Vidushan Ragukaran, Director, Global Equities & Thematic Indices, S&P Dow Jones Indices (S&P DJI)
Vidushan focuses on origination and product development across global equities, supporting a broad range of core, thematic and sustainability strategies. He works closely with Sales, Marketing, and Research & Design teams to bring new ideas to market and support their commercial success. Prior to S&P DJI, Vidushan worked at Cerulli Associates, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Investec Wealth & Investment and Ninety One.

Joshua Palmer, Head of Business Development at HANetf
Joshua began his career at Williams de Broe (2005) before joining Master Capital (a fund of equity hedge funds). He later joined Aurum (fund of hedge funds), distributing offshore and UCITS offerings, and then Brook Green (third-party marketing and distribution). He joined EPIC Investment Partners in 2019 in business development. Joshua has distributed strategies across traditional and alternative asset classes, including hedge funds, long-only equity and fixed income (developed and emerging markets), and private lending strategies.

Moderator

Lucy Summerfield, Associate Director at S&P DJI

Lucy is an Associate Director at S&P Dow Jones Indices (S&P DJI), where she supports the firm’s index business in delivering solutions for clients across the asset-management and ETF ecosystem. She is also Co-Head of Events for Women in ETFs (EMEA). Prior to joining S&P DJI, Lucy worked at Bloomberg, bringing experience from one of the world’s leading financial data and analytics platforms into her work with indices and ETF market participants.