State Street Corporation announced today that it has been appointed by Columbia Management Group, Inc., the asset management arm of FleetBoston Financial, to provide a variety of investment services to an additional 62 of Columbia Management Group’s funds, representing approximately $18 billion in assets. With this expanded relationship, State Street now provides services for 165 of Columbia Management Group’s funds, worth $50 billion in assets.
State Street will provide custody, accounting, expense budgeting and processing and financial reporting services for Columbia Management Group’s 40 Galaxy and 22 Columbia Funds. State Street has provided custody, fund accounting and financial reporting for Columbia Management Group’s Liberty Funds since 2000.
“We are delighted to build on our existing relationship with Columbia Management Group and extend our services to their funds,” said Jay Hooley, executive vice president of State Street Corporation. “This mandate underscores the value of State Street’s superior client service, as well as our ability to provide asset managers with a variety of innovative and scaleable solutions as they focus on their core competencies.”
“State Street’s proven experience, technology and premier servicing team were key factors in our decision to appoint them to service our funds,” said Joe Palombo, chief operating officer of Columbia Management Group. “We value the flexible solutions State Street offers, and our expanded arrangement should help us to advance our position as one of the world’s 30 largest asset management firms.”
State Street is the leader in providing clients around the world with a bundled suite of investor services solutions including transfer agency, fund accounting, fund administration and custody. Last month, State Street was selected by Nuveen Investments to provide investment services for 130 of Nuveen’s funds, representing $45 billion in assets. Recently, State Street also announced it had been appointed to provide a full range of investor services to Credit Suisse Funds and ING Funds, totaling $26 billion in assets.
FleetBoston Financial is the seventh-largest financial holding company in the United States, with assets of $191 billion. The company’s principal businesses, Personal Financial Services and Wholesale Banking, offer a comprehensive array of innovative financial solutions to 20 million customers. Columbia Management Group has $160 billion in investment assets under management, ranking it among the world’s 30 largest asset managers. This includes more than $50 billion in mutual fund assets under management, ranking the Columbia Management Group among the top 20 U.S. mutual fund managers. Columbia’s investment portfolio is diversified by asset classes, with 50 percent in equity, 30 percent in fixed income, and 20 percent in money market funds. Its asset management businesses comprise such well-known names as Liberty Funds, Stein Roe & Farnham, Columbia Management, Galaxy Funds, Liberty Wanger Asset Management, and Newport Pacific Management.
State Street Corporation (NYSE: STT) is the world’s leading specialist in providing sophisticated global investors with investment servicing, investment management, investment research and trading services. With $6.2 trillion in assets under custody and $770 billion in assets under management, State Street is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts and operates in 22 countries and 100 markets worldwide.