State Street Corporation, the specialist in meeting the needs of sophisticated global investors, announced today the appointment of Stuart Platt-Ransom to vice president and general manager of State Street’s investor services operations in South Africa.
Platt-Ransom brings an extensive understanding of the South African financial marketplace and a tremendous track record of building long-term relationships with leading institutions in the region. As a member of State Street’s global investor services business team in South Africa, Platt-Ransom led the creation of a 1998 alliance with Nedcor Bank, a leading South African financial services group, under which State Street and Nedcor jointly provide a full array of integrated global and domestic investment services in South Africa, including custody, investment accounting, transition management, performance and analytics and global securities lending. Currently based in London, Platt-Ransom serves as vice president of State Street’s business development and relationship management efforts in Africa and Scandinavia.
“We are extremely pleased that Stuart will be leading our highly talented team in South Africa, an important strategic region for State Street as we continue to broaden our international presence and expand our relationships with global investors,” said Jeff Conway, head of State Street’s investment services business in the U.K., Northern Europe, the Middle East and South Africa.
“South Africa hosts some of the world’s most sophisticated global investors who require integrated investor servicing solutions and high quality relationships from their servicing partners. We are well positioned to continue to meet the market’s expanding needs with State Street’s industry-leading investor servicing solutions, our high caliber team and strong partnership with Nedcor.”
Together with Nedcor, State Street has led the introduction of global master custody to the South African market, providing services to the leading institutions in the region, including South Africa’s Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF), which appointed the Nedcor/State Street alliance to provide investment accounting, compliance monitoring and performance measurement services for its retirement (public) fund with assets of approximately ZAR 230 billion (USD 23 billion).
“I am extremely pleased to lead the State Street team in South Africa, particularly as we celebrate the fourth anniversary of our partnership with Nedcor, and I look forward to accelerating the growth of State Street’s presence in the region,” said Platt-Ransom. “Having worked closely with the team over the last few years to build new business opportunities, I am confident that the Nedcor/State Street team is fully prepared to continue to provide world-class solutions to the market. With South African financial institutions seeking more advanced, bundled services, we have tremendous opportunities to expand our business in the region in the years to come.”
In his seven years with State Street, Platt-Ransom has worked in the company’s Luxembourg and Dublin global custody business for both pension funds and mutual funds.
Prior to joining State Street, he worked for Global Asset Management (GAM) on the Isle of Man.
Commenting on the appointment, Rob Wassenaar, Nedbank General Manager said, “The recent and significant changes in the custody industry aptly underline the importance of the Nedcor Bank/State Street alliance. Our alliance with State Street, the acknowledged world leader in global custody and fund accounting, positions us well. Together, we are ideally situated to develop new products and solutions in preparation of industry changes, such as market dematerialization. We are delighted to welcome Stuart back in South Africa and look forward to the next phase in the development of the alliance.”