ART appoints State Street as investment partner

Australian Retirement Trust (ART) has revealed that State Street has been chosen as the fund’s primary and preferred custodian and investment administrator. 

State Street would provide custodial, investment administration and data management services to the fund’s two million superannuation members. Additionally, the appointment would enable ART’s in-house team to focus directly on core portfolio management and operation responsibilities. 

Anthony Rose, chief financial officer at ART, explained the appointment of State Street as primary custodian was a benefit of the fund’s $230 billion merger between Sunsuper and QSuper in 2022 which allowed for greater efficiencies.

“Moving to a single custodian will be a significant integration milestone following the merger last year. This partnership delivers significant efficiency benefits and demonstrates the ability to leverage increased scale for our members,” he said. 

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The CFO added that the selection of State Street as the preferred investment administrator was underpinned by their service offering, capabilities, technology and cost. 

“They offered a combination we feel will deliver the best outcome to our more than two million members across Australia and supports our growing portfolio of investments in Australia and globally.”

As the contract took effect on 21 December, 2022, Rose continued: “ART has a longstanding relationship with State Street, with both heritage funds having worked with State Street over the past decade, and we’re excited to continue to build on this partnership over the years ahead.”

Mostapha Tahiri, chief executive of State Street Asia Pacific, said the partnership represented the next stage of transformation following the merger’s completion.

“Mergers mean not just an increase in scale, but also greater complexities, therefore it is critical for superannuation funds to have a middle, back-office and data management partner that can support their growth globally, and provide them access to the latest technology,” said Tim Helyar, head of Australia at State Street.