State Street wins REST custody mandate

State Street Corporation will provide custody and administration services, including fund accounting and complex tax services, to REST Super following an extensive 14-month due diligence process.

State Street Global Services Australia’s head of sales, Greg O’Sullivan, described the long-term deal as the largest superannuation fund transition ever to be completed in the Australian market.

The transition will be run by a dedicated transition team, and there is a governance structure in place that includes senior representatives from both organisations, he said.

The deal is especially significant for the market because it demonstrated a genuine alternative to the existing superannuation custody duopoly of JP Morgan and National Asset Servicing, he added.

REST chief executive Damian Hill said the selection was based on State Street’s overall service and value proposition, and reflected its global reach and track record, its solutions-oriented focus and its ability to service large and sophisticated institutional clients.

Super funds are becoming increasingly sophisticated in their servicing requirements and State Street is meeting those demands by investing heavily in infrastructure and technology, according to the head of State Street Global Markets, Ian Martin.

“With the growth in Australia’s superannuation sector accompanied by increasing demands and market sophistication, we are very well placed to manage this mandate across expansive asset classes, investment activities, and alternative assets,” Martin said.

The deal is a good example of the changing requirements of superannuation and the need to partner with someone who has broad experience in servicing that sophistication and those changing needs, O’Sullivan added.

“We’ll be aggressively looking to grow our market share. This is a sector we think we can be very successful in,” he said.