factor indexing

Contributors
Xiaowei Kang
Xiaowei Kang is director of index research and design at S&P Indices, leading
the quantitative index research and design efforts in the EMEA region. Prior to
joining S&P, Xiaowei worked for MSCI Barra in the equity and applied research
group, and at Markit, where he was vice president of credit indices. Xiaowei is a
CFA charter holder and holds a master’s degree in economics and management
science from the Humboldt University of Berlin.
Barry Feldman
Barry Feldman, PhD, CFA is a senior research analyst at Russell Investments.
He was involved in the development of the Russell-Axioma factor indices, the
Russell global indices and was co-developer of the Russell stability indices.
Previously, he analysed real estate index design, worked on strategic asset allocation
and developed Ibbotson’s method of resampled optimisation while at
Ibbotson Associates. He earned a BS in economics from MIT and a PhD in economics
from Stony Brook University.
Chin Ping Chia
Anthony Lazanas
Arne Staal Dimitris Melas
Gareth Parker
Gareth Parker is director of index research, design and development, EMEA, at
Russell Indexes, where he is responsible for the design, development and product
management of Russell’s European index range. He has particular interest in the
indexation of non-linear payoffs, less correlated markets, and of complex strategies.
Chin Ping Chia is executive director and head of Asia-Pacific research at MSCI,
overseeing the firm’s index, ESG and applied research agenda across the region.
Mr Chia is a board member of the MSCI Equity Index Committee, which is responsible
for all editorial decisions relating to MSCI indices. Before joining MSCI, Mr
Chia was a buy-side analyst at HSBC Asset Management and a director at the
Ministry of Trade and Industry in Singapore. He holds a BA (Hons) in economics
from the National University of Singapore and is a CFA charterholder.
Dimitris Melas is executive director and global head of new product research
at MSCI. His team conducts research to support the firm’s index and analytics
products. Before joining MSCI in 2006, Mr Melas was head of research and head
of quantitative strategies at HSBC Asset Management. He has an MSc in Electrical
Engineering, an MBA in Finance and obtained a PhD from the London School of
Economics in financial applications of optimal control theory.
Anthony Lazanas is head of portfolio modelling and index strategies in
Barclays Capital’s index, portfolio and risk solutions team, based in New York.
Anthony holds a PhD and master’s degree in computer science from Stanford
University and a diploma in electrical engineering from the National Technical
university of Athens. He began his career at Salomon Brothers in 1993, moving
to Lehman Brothers in 1995. He joined Barclays Capital in 2008 and assumed his
current role in 2009.
Arne Staal is a director in Barclays Capital’s index, portfolio and risk solutions
team, based in London. He is responsible for research in Europe into index
products and systematic strategies. Arne holds a PhD in finance from the Kellogg
school of business at Northwestern University and a master’s degree in economics
and econometrics from the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. He joined
Lehman Brothers in 2006 and Barclays Capital in 2008.
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March/April 2012