State Street Service Tracks Private-Market Investments

State Street Bank and Trust Co., the nation's largest provider of pension plan and mutual fund custody services, is offering a PC-based service for managing portfolio investments not traded on public markets.

The service, called PrivateEdge, provides accounting, financial reporting, and performance measurement for real estate, venture capital, and other such privately placed investments.

State Street bank is trying to sell the service first to trustess of large pensions plans with significant private-placement holdings. Later it would be marketed to insurance companies, investment advisers, and banks.

Frank Antin, senior vice president for market and product development at State Street, said the service was developed in response to the needs of clients.

Investors with private market holdings cannot get information to report on assets and performance as easily as those with investments traded on the public market, Mr. Antin noted.

Private investors must gather information from multiple sources and use a separate general accounting system or third-party accounting provider to tally the value of their holdings.

With PrivateEdge, the general accounting function and report information are combined in one service that clients can access through their PCs. Increasing investments in the private market have spurred demand for such a service, said Mr. Antin.

"Clients continue to look for ways to maximize returns and diversify investment strategies," he said.

The service provides them with the information to better manage their portfolios and monitor exposure to risk, he said.

PrivateEdge fits into State Street's overall strategy to provide customers with better access to information, Mr. Antin said.

The company plans to roll out additional products in other areas later in the year.

Boston-based State Street, which has $1.9 trillion in assets under custody and $180 billion under management, provides all data entry, accounting, and performance measurement services as part of PrivateEdge.

The service allows investors to analyze exposure and return, incorporating a variety of factors, such as investment type, property type, industry classifications, geographic region, type of ownership, and specific manager. Ad hoc reports and extracts can be created on demand.

The service maintains information on individual investments and complete portfolios. It provides a detailed history of all transaction activities.

The cost of the service varies, depending on the size of the holdings and complexity of investments. PrivateEdge will be enhanced in response to market conditions and customer needs.

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