State Street Global Advisors (SSgA), the investment management arm of State Street, says its German subsidiary, Munich-based State Street Global Advisors GmbH, has been appointed by Sanofi Aventis to manage a Euros 800 million currency overlay mandate for Sanofi Aventis’ Pension Trust, Aventis Pensionstreuhand eV, which represents Sanofi Aventis’ pension fund obligations in Germany.
This new mandate expands State Street’s existing relationships with Sanofi Aventis, the French pharmaceutical company. SSgA Germany has been awarded already in 2003 a Euros 700 million passive global equity mandate from Sanofi Aventis Pension Trust.
Furthermore, State Street Bank, Munich, has served as a provider of Depotbank (custody and accounting) and performance & analytics services to Sanofi Aventis Pension Trust for US$2.3 billion in assets since 2004.
“We are pleased to have appointed State Street Global Advisors to manage this mandate,” says Wolfgang Weber, head of Benefits Finance & Asset Management for Sanofi Aventis and chairman of the investment committee for Sanofi Aventis Pension Trust. “It was the natural choice for this mandate because of the broad diversity of skills and experience of its currency team and its emphasis on controlling risk. We look forward to working with SSgA to help us achieve the investment goals we’ve set for our pension fund.”
Klaus Esswein, head of State Street Global Advisors in Germany, says the deal illustrates the success of its active currency management process and confirms the commitment of SSgA to the German institutional market. “We view this win as a tribute to the expertise of our currency management team and their adherence to a philosophy of adding value while reducing risk wherever possible,” he says. “We look forward to working with Sanofi Aventis to achieve its investment objectives.” SSgA today manages more than US$65 billion in global currency portfolios.