State Street Corporation (NYSE: STT) announced today (Thursday) that it has finalized its purchase of CF Global Trading, a London-based firm specializing in outsourced trading across various asset classes. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
State Street Completes Acquisition of UK-based CF Global Trading
State Street said the acquisition expands its ability to offer outsourced trading services to clients in the UK and European Union. CF Global Trading's operations will complement State Street's existing outsourced trading desks in the Americas and Asia Pacific regions. The combined global footprint will allow State Street to provide a full suite of front-to-back trading solutions via its Alpha platform.
"Outsourced trading enables organizations to access new asset classes and navigate global markets while allowing them to focus on their strategic outcomes on behalf of their clients,” said According to Dan Morgan, the Global Head of Portfolio Solutions at State Street. “The addition of CF Global Trading brings industry-leading expertise that strengthens our current outsourced trading services."
The acquisition announcement was first revealed almost a year ago, in March 2023. The companies then expected to close the deal by the end of last year, but due to the pending customary closing conditions the finalization was briefly postponed.
Scott Chace, the CEO of CF Global Trading, added that joining State Street provides an opportunity to further build on CF Global's outsourced trading platform and client base. “We are very pleased to announce the close of this acquisition,” Chace concluded.
State Street has offered outsourced trading solutions since 2010 and has invested heavily in related technologies and personnel.
State Street Cut ETFs Fees
To boost its competitiveness, State Street Global Advisors recently announced sweeping fee reductions across nearly half of its SPDR Portfolio exchange-traded fund (ETF) lineup. The asset manager slashed costs on 10 core ETFs totaling over $77 billion in assets, marking its largest expense ratio cuts ever for the SPDR platform.
The most drastic reduction came for the $20 billion SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF, where fees dropped from 3 basis points to just 2, cementing its status as one of the lowest-cost S&P 500 index funds available. Significant cuts also hit SPDR's emerging markets, mid cap, and dividend-focused offerings.
The move was called by State Street's representative "a massive win for smaller investors.”