Tim Helyar

State Street has released the first module of Reimagining Retirement^[1], a comprehensive research series examining how macro forces are transforming retirement systems worldwide and where financial services can respond with scalable solutions.

Drawing on analysis of 15 countries across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East, the research identifies five critical forces reshaping retirement: demographic aging, socioeconomic shifts (including the rise of gig work), technological disruption, rising longevity, and mounting fiscal pressures. The report reveals that despite vastly different system designs, every country faces challenges balancing fiscal sustainability with retirement adequacy, and most are converging toward portable defined contribution models and flexible decumulation.

Australia’s retirement system is a multi-pillar model, balancing adequacy, sustainability and broad coverage. It is often cited as a benchmark among Anglo-American countries for its integration of public and private provision, and its adaptability to changing economic conditions.

“Australia’s retirement industry has become a A$4.33 trillion super system, placing the system on par with the combined balance sheets of major banks,” said Tim Helyar, country head for Australia at State Street. “It is more than an ‘individual’ concern but a system that influences the wider economy, capital markets and national financial stability. The scale also creates significant opportunity for the financial services industry.

“With annual contributions near A$160 billion and withdrawals around A$120 billion, Australia is approaching the inflection point where decumulation or retirement overtakes accumulation.”

“Decumulation has moved to the centre of the retirement agenda,” said Jonathan Shead, Head of Investments in Australia at State Street Investment Management. “The question is no longer how much Australians have saved, but how reliably those balances can be translated into income for life. Australia is a gold standard, poised to build one of the best retirement systems in the world. We believe as an industry, have both the opportunity and the responsibility in standardising a simple default pathway, combining guided drawdown with risk pooling and partial annuitisation or deferred income components.

“Giving Australians predictable income, flexibility when circumstances change, and clear guardrails that reduce the risk of poor sequencing or longevity outcomes are critical.”

Helyar added: “Super funds’ rising private markets allocations and data-driven decisioning are unlocking performance and personalisation opportunities. Millennials and Gen Z are intensifying digital engagement with superannuation, driving investment in mobile first platforms, personalization, and fintech partnerships that capture attention and flows.”

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Notes:
[1] https://www.statestreet.com/au/en/discover/reimagining-retirement/shifting-global-landscape

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Mark Simons

Charles River Development, a State Street Company, announced that Australian Ethical Investment has selected the Charles River Investment Management Solution (Charles River IMS) to automate its front and middle office processes for its entire investment portfolio.

Australian Ethical, a leader in ethical investment, will use Charles River IMS for portfolio and risk management, trading, compliance, performance measurement and attribution (PMAR), investment book of record (IBOR), and transaction management. It will also use the State Street Alpha® Data Platform and Services to manage its investment data. Charles River IMS is used by 325 clients globally, managing more than USD 59 trillion in assets^[1].

“The cloud-based, open architecture of the Charles River IMS provides an operating model that can meet the evolving demands of many businesses,” said Vinayak Bhat, Head of Asia Pacific and Middle East at Charles River. “Managing an investment lifecycle on a single platform gives companies the flexibility to scale the technology and services as their business complexity and needs change. We are excited to work with Australian Ethical and support their growth.”

Australian Ethical Chief Financial Officer Mark Simons said, “We are pleased to be implementing Charles River in our front and middle office which will complement our move to State Street back office investment administration. We see Charles River and State Street Alpha as a critical step in maturing our investment management platform end-to-end. Having seamless data management and connectivity across our portfolios will provide significant operational efficiencies and reduce risk as we continue to grow.”

This front and middle office mandate follows the appointment of State Street as Australian Ethical’s back-office provider. This new agreement means Australian Ethical will deploy State Street Alpha, the first front-to-back portfolio management, data and asset servicing platform from a single provider.

State Street’s Country Head, Australia, Tim Helyar, said he looks forward to working with Australian Ethical as a front-to-back Alpha client: “The mandate further demonstrates that State Street Alpha provides value to asset managers and owners of varying complexity and scale, who are looking to streamline their investment process to deliver efficiencies and insights across their investment operations, from portfolio construction to custody.”

State Street’s mandate with Australian Ethical also includes integration with key strategic partners within State Street Alpha’s partner ecosystem.

Mr Helyar said the Australian Ethical mandate was further proof of State Street’s commitment to the Australian market: “This further demonstrates the value of State Street, where we are combining integrated global capabilities with an operating model that has global scale and a strong local presence.”

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Notes:
[1] As of Q3 2024. Assets are inclusive of clients using the platform for purposes of secondary compliance.

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Tim Helyar

State Street Corporation (NYSE: STT) has announced that it has been chosen as custodian and administrator for the more than A$30 billion in funds invested for members of Brighter Super.

State Street will provide a sweeping range of services to Brighter Super’s more than 130 portfolios across multiple asset classes including equities, fixed income, private assets and derivatives.

Brighter Super Chief Financial Officer Garnett Hollier said: “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.”

State Street Country Head, Australia, Tim Helyar said: “This significant mandate further demonstrates State Street’s commitments not only to Australia’s superannuation industry but also Queensland as an important on-the-ground location for servicing our clients.”

“We are excited to partner with Brighter Super as it transforms its operations following its recent mergers,” Mr Helyar said.

Under the new mandate, State Street will provide Brighter Super 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.

Brighter Super has sought to use the increased size it gained from the merger of LGIAsuper and Energy Super in 2021 and the acquisition of Suncorp Super, which was completed last year, driving efficiencies of scale and fee reductions for most 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,” Mr 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.”

Mr Helyar said as super funds grew their assets and membership, it was increasingly important 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,” Mr Helyar said. “We look forward to embarking on a long-term partnership with Brighter Super.”

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Tim Helyar

State Street Corporation (NYSE:STT) has announced it has been reappointed to provide custodial services to Retail Employees Superannuation Trust (Rest), one of Australia’s largest profit-tomember superannuation funds.

Rest is renewing its contract with State Street for a further three years covering a wide range of custodial and investment administration solutions.

“In trusting State Street with its ongoing business, Rest has again acknowledged our global expertise, scale and breadth of services, as well as the value of our 11-year relationship,” said Tim Helyar, Head of Australia at State Street. “We are delighted to renew our partnership with Rest in an extremely important part of their business.”

State Street has worked productively and successfully with Rest since first being appointed in 2011. In February of last year, Rest engaged Charles River Development, a State Street company, and selected Charles River Investment Management Solution to consolidate its front and middle office operations for managing asset allocation, global equities, fixed income, FX and futures.

“Rest exists to help our 1.9 million members achieve their best possible retirement outcome and this ambition is directly supported by our renewed strategic relationship with State Street,” said Rest Chief Financial Officer, Kulwant Singh-Pangly. “We are especially pleased to expand and strengthen our longstanding agreement with State Street, who provide us with critical support to our front, middle and back offices, supporting us in the pursuit of our investment objectives for all our members.”

Rest’s latest mandate will see State Street continuing to provide back office services, including custody, accounting and unit pricing, performance and analytics, tax and regulatory reporting and loan servicing.

“We are proud to support Rest as they continue to grow their portfolio complexity and size,” added Helyar. “This acknowledgment from a leading Australian superannuation fund is testament to State Street’s unique offering and commitment to the country’s superannuation market.”

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Clark Perkins

State Street Corporation (NYSE:STT) has announced that it has been appointed as fund administrator for the Mercury Capital Fund twenty2.

The A$1 billion fund completed its very successful fund raising and closed on June 30 to launch what is Mercury Capital’s fourth private equity fund since its inception.

“With a 12-year track record, Mercury Capital has cemented its position as a leading private equity manager in the local market and we’re very pleased to support their growth and partner on this new fund. Mercury understands the critical role State Street plays in bringing its global expertise, scale and experience to the task of fund accounting and administration,” said Tim Helyar, head of Australia at State Street.

“It will be reassuring for our investors we have the support of State Street, which has the capability and sophistication to work seamlessly and effectively with our Mercury Capital team as it pursues its pipeline of opportunities,” said Clark Perkins at Mercury Capital.

Mercury Capital Fund twenty2 will focus on mid-market private equity transactions in Australia and New Zealand, and anticipates making eight to ten investments over its life cycle. It will target partnership investments alongside private business owners and management teams in companies with enterprise valuations in the range of A$150 million to A$500 million.

“The incredible growth of private equity markets across the globe has created new opportunities for firms in the Australian market. State Street is committed to the sector and to growing its alternatives business,” added Helyar. “This acknowledgment from a proven local performer like Mercury Capital confirms our own belief we have a unique offering and capabilities for the Australian market.”

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The two newly created roles will report to Mostapha Tahiri, chief executive officer for Asia Pacific. Based in Sydney and Singapore, Helyar and Hardy will oversee State Street’s business in Australia and Southeast Asia respectively, including driving the enterprise-wide growth strategy, stewarding client engagement, developing talent and maintaining strong regulatory relationships.

“It is essential for us to provide clients a total solution to help them overcome challenges and grow their businesses,” said Tahiri. “Our new Australia and Singapore and Southeast Asia heads will bring clients all of State Street’s capabilities from investment servicing, investment research and trading, to data management and a front-to-back asset servicing platform. With significant, on-the-ground experience working with asset owners and asset managers in Australia and Southeast Asia, Tim and Kevin understand the unique demands of our clients in local markets. I am delighted to have such strong leaders in these two important markets as we continue to accelerate our growth in Asia Pacific.”

Helyar will be joining State Street next month, bringing almost two decades of experience at JP Morgan Investor Services to the firm and was most recently head of fund services product development for Asia Pacific at JP Morgan. Helyar has financial services experience across securities services, superannuation and wealth management.

Hardy will also join State Street next month from Additiv Asia where he was general manager for Asia Pacific, responsible for all activities in the region including sales, relationship management and product for the Swiss-based technology provider. Prior to that, he worked at a number of global asset managers including BlackRock, Northern Trust Global Investments and State Street Global Advisors. He was Singapore country head, where he was responsible for the business in Southeast Asia, and head of ETF & index investments for Asia Pacific at BlackRock.

State Street opened its first offices in Australia and Singapore in 1986 and 1997 respectively. Since then, it has developed an array of comprehensive solutions including investment servicing, investment research and trading, data management and front-to-back asset servicing platform to local institutional investors. In the six months to June 30, 2021, its assets under custody rose 18% to A$544 billion (USD 405 billion), making it the fifth largest custodian in Australia^[1] . In Southeast Asia, State Street provides services to clients in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Brunei.

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[1] Source: Australian Custodial Services Association, as of June 30, 2021

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