State Street buys commission management outfit FinancialSockets
State Street Corporation (NYSE: STT), the world's leading provider of financial services to institutional investors, announced today that it has expanded its commission management service offering to provide a complete, end-to-end solution that enables customers to better manage commission flows, address regulatory reporting requirements and administer commission sharing arrangements.
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State Street Global Markets, the investment research and trading arm of State Street Corporation, has acquired FinancialSockets, an innovator in global commission management that offers asset management firms a pioneering technology solution for effectively managing and reporting on their usage of research and execution commissions.
"Partnering with State Street Global Markets presents an opportunity to integrate our technology with their industry leading commission management services," said Robin Howard, chief executive officer of FinancialSockets. "Together we will bring a comprehensive set of tools to the market, enabling us to expand our services to a greater number of the world's leading asset management firms at a time when demand for more transparency is growing."
The current industry practice for commission sharing can be complex and inefficient, since investment managers, brokers and research providers all operate independently.
"Commission management is becoming an important service for asset managers who need to meet compliance demands of best execution while simultaneously preserving their ability to acquire research from multiple providers," said Stan Shelton, executive vice president and head of State Street Global Markets. "Our combined service offering will provide institutional investors with a comprehensive solution across the entire commission management process."
The State Street Global Markets and FinancialSockets combination has created a truly integrated commission management offering that is unique in the market. Broker evaluation software enables investment managers to conduct a cost/benefit analysis and tie compensation to the quality and depth of broker services provided. A comprehensive commission management platform consolidates tracking, analysis and reporting of costs and payments to address the dynamic regulatory and business management reporting requirements facing firms today. The solution also includes the administration of commission sharing arrangements among asset managers, brokers and research providers, simplifying the process for all participants.