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State Street's (STT) Asset Management Unit Takes Stake in Raiz

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State Street Corporation’s (STT - Free Report) asset management unit, State Street Global Advisors, has announced an investment in a leading Australian fintech platform, Raiz Invest Limited. As part of the equity investment agreement, State Street Global Advisors will acquire 5% of Raiz’s share capital through a placement.

Raiz is a platform that allows customers to grow their wealth by helping them save and invest.

Through this partnership, State Street Global Advisors’ trusted brand and deep knowledge of markets will come together with Raiz’s mobile-first platform, which helps retail investors in Australia with micro-investments primarily in exchange-traded funds (ETF) and model portfolios.

Also, Raiz customers will have access to a broader array of financial literacy content and investment education tools.

Yie-Hsin Hung, the president and CEO of State Street Global Advisors, stated, “We are excited to expand our relationship with Raiz, a proven fintech leader in bringing important tools and educational resources to investors across the region. This strategic investment reinforces our strategy to join forces with wealth firms who share our commitment to help investors globally manage their investments and savings for retirement.”

Meaghan Victor, the head of Intermediary Asia Pacific at State Street Global Advisors, said, “This investment is a natural extension of the successful relationship we have enjoyed with Raiz since launch in 2016. Both of us share a passion for making financial tools and solutions accessible to all investors, and through this strategic arrangement we will leverage our respective capabilities to help Australian investors plan and save for retirement.”

Brendan Malone, the managing director and CEO of Raiz, mentioned, “From learning about investments in ETFs through to more complex investment strategies such as superannuation retirement portfolios, we look forward to continuing our relationship with State Street Global Advisors on educational tools for all stages of a customer lifecycle. Raiz’s Australian customers, who range from beginners to experienced investors, will benefit significantly from the global resources that we can provide through this strategic arrangement.”

Notably, STT has been expanding its scale continuously by undertaking restructuring efforts and inorganic growth initiatives. In February 2024, the company acquired CF Global Trading, which is expected to further expand its outsourced trading capabilities.

As part of the consolidation of its India-based operations, STT assumed full ownership of its two joint ventures. In 2021, it acquired Mercatus to provide a fully integrated platform to institutional investors for growing private market segments.

Also, State Street has been focusing on broadening its array of products to cater to client needs and strengthen fee income. Recently, it entered a strategic partnership with Taurus SA to enhance its digital asset solutions by delivering reliable digital asset capabilities to State Street Bank and Trust Company clients. This June, STT announced a collaboration with Galaxy Asset Management to introduce investors to the next generation of digital asset-based strategies and enhance their exposure to digital asset space companies.

So far this year, STT shares have gained 8.5% compared with the industry’s 20.9% growth.
 

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Currently, State Street carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Growth Initiatives by Other Finance Firms

Last month, SEI Investments Company (SEIC - Free Report) announced an enhanced integration with Canoe Intelligence to boost operational efficiency for family offices via the SEI Archway Platform.

This expanded relationship between both entities aims to automate the transmission of private equity and hedge fund valuations alongside private equity call and distribution data.

The move aligns with SEI Investments’ revenue growth strategy. In February 2024, SEIC invested $10 million in TIFIN, a leading force in AI-driven wealth management innovation. In 2023, the company acquired Altigo, a cloud-based technology platform that provides inventory, e-subscription and reporting capabilities for alternative investments.

In May, KKR & Co. Inc. (KKR - Free Report) entered a partnership with Capital Group to augment alternative investment solutions for client portfolios. The move aimed to make hybrid public-private market investment solutions available to investors across asset classes, channels and geographies.

While alternatives are accessible to high-net-worth individuals and accredited investors, mass affluent investors (constituting more than 40% of the global wealth market) have been deprived of this asset class. KKR’s strategic initiative paves the way for many finance professionals and their clients to access alternative investments and include them in their portfolios.


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