AUSTRALIA – The Frank Russell Company has selected State Street as custodian and administrator to its Australian domiciled funds, totalling around $4.1bn and comprising 14 multi-manager and multi-asset class portfolios.

State Street replaces BT Portfolio Services - recently acquired by Chase Manhattan, with the transition expected to be complete by the end of the first quarter of this year.

Alan Schoenheimer, managing director of Russell’s Australasian operations, says:
“ We recently undertook a review of the major players in the Australian master custody market. State Street has the scale, expertise and commitment to ensure our clients receive efficient, value-added custody services
“ We were particularly impressed with the quality of State Street’s people and their technology platforms.”

Russell manages AUS$115bn (e68.3bn) in assets worldwide. State Street has US$6.2tn (e6.56tn) in assets under custody globally.