European Transfer Agent of the Year

State Street offers a ‘one-stop shop’ service encompassing an integrated and comprehensive range of investment services – backed by $15.3 trillion (€11.9 trillion) in global assets under custody and operations in 26 countries and more than 100 markets. These services are fully scalable to the customers’ needs.

State Street leverages its scale in all that it does, and transfer agency is no exception. It says that no other transfer agent can come close to its market footprint or range of services. Within Europe, State Street/IFDS (a joint venture with DST Systems) has more than 1,900 experienced and dedicated staff and 6m investors. Its customers are domiciled in the Channel Islands, Germany, Ireland, Isle of Man, Italy, Luxembourg and the UK.

The judges recognised this scale and the multi-domicile nature of it, and in doing so they agreed these factors were important in the transfer agency business. They also chose State Street/IFDS based on the experience of peers and clients. “People always want to use State Street anywhere in the world,” said one judge.

State Street’s product offering also caught the eye of judges. As markets in Europe evolve, asset managers, distributors, advisers and investors are demanding more complex products that incorporate a wide range of components. IFDS offers customers products ranging from collective investments and tax wrappers to pensions cash deposits, ETFs and structured products.

Click the screen for a video of the award presentation.

Also shortlisted ... 

BNY Mellon Asset Servicing
BNY Mellon has extended the range of products it can support in recent years; this was duly noted by judges. The provider can support traditional unit trust and ICVC offerings to all major retail wrappers, such as ISAs in the UK and Child Trust Funds. BNY Mellon has also embraced new fund and asset class structures, from structured products to property funds, Ucits and hedge funds.

RBC Dexia Investor Services
RBC Dexia was one of the first service providers in mainland Europe to specialise in transfer agency. The firm has a 39% market share in Luxembourg, according to Lipper Feri. It was noted for its technology. The firm has a fully integrated IT platform, which together with a high level of straight-through processing, contributes to the mitigation of operational efficiency and reducing costs.