The Boston money management firm State Street Research and Management Co. has combined its 3-year-old retirement services offerings into a new division for its institutional clients.
State Street, a subsidiary of Metropolitan Life Insurance Co., offers its institutional clients 10 lines of pension products, including 401(k), profit-sharing, money-purchase, and union plans. State Street Research Adviser Retirement Services is launched as a separate unit to bundle these lines of business, and enhance servicing of these plans.
We want to leverage the contact we have in the retail business, said Liz Devin, assistant vice president of retirement products management at State Street Research. We dont want our customers to go somewhere else when we already have the products they desire.
Though it will work closely with MetLife, Ms. Devin said that the new unit will not offer products from MetLifes five-year-old Retirewise product line, which includes 401(k) plans, IRAs, and annuities. We arent looking to duplicate what they have. We want to be able to offer alternatives to our clients, she said.
The new unit will also be developing additional products and marketing materials, as well as enhanced Internet access for brokers, plan sponsors, and participants, Ms. Devin said. Initially the Internet function will enable investment professionals to conduct market research with their participants to determine how to enhance the plans they offer their clients.
The retirement services division will announce its first new product in October, when it introduces a sales toolkit for brokers that will help them market pension plans. She also anticipates increasing State Street Researchs sales force during the fourth quarter of this year.
