State Street wins super custody mandate

State Street Corporation has been chosen as custodian and administrator of Brighter Super.

With this, it will provide fund accounting and unit pricing, custody, administrative services, alternative investment services, taxation services, financial and regulatory reporting, performance and analytics, investment mandate monitoring, and securities lending across Brighter Super’s more than 130 investment portfolios.

As of March 2024, State Street holds over US$43.9 trillion in assets under custody and/or administration globally.

“After a competitive tender process, we selected State Street as we believe they have the proven capability in servicing superannuation funds, the global network and scale, as well as local presence in Brisbane and an extensive superannuation client community that will bring enormous benefits to our members,” said Garnett Hollier, Brighter Super’s chief financial officer.

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With the mandate, the fund is seeking to transform its operations off the back of recent mergers, which include the merger of LGIAsuper and Energy Super in 2021 and the acquisition of Suncorp Super in 2023.

Brighter Super is presently the fourth-largest non-government financial institution in Queensland and has more than 230,000 members.

“At Brighter Super, we recognise both the need for, and the opportunity arising from, the current industry consolidation because we have been a part of it with our own series of mergers,” Hollier said.

“One of the major benefits is attaining sufficient scale and being able to take full advantage of technological advancements, and this is what our partnership with State Street will allow us to do.”

Tim Helyar, State Street’s country head, Australia, noted that, as super funds increase in scale and membership, it becomes increasingly crucial to “harness the best technologies and capabilities available through their partners.”

“Many funds realise the transformative potential of data but many lack the necessary technical capability, which is why State Street’s systems, expertise and experience are a valuable fit,” he said.

“We look forward to embarking on a long-term partnership with Brighter Super.”

Last month, Brighter Super announced it intends to invest an additional $500 million in Queensland across sectors like infrastructure, agriculture, and housing, against the backdrop of the 2032 Brisbane Olympic Games.

The additional investment through its Queensland Investment Strategy comes on top of the fund’s existing $1 billion in assets in the state.