Minderides in At State Street’s UK Transitions Team

Ex-JP Morgan transition management chief John Minderides has been recruited to lead State Street’s efforts in the United Kingdom; Rick Boomgaardt, head of EMEA transitions, has left the firm.

(January 17, 2012)—Former JP Morgan transition management guru John Minderides has been hired to lead State Street’s transition efforts in the United Kingdom. Rick Boomgaardt, head of EMEA transition management, has left the firm.

Minderides, formerly global head of transitions at the world’s third largest custodian, left JP Morgan in June 2010 after six years. He had indicated at the time that he was unlikely to re-enter the transition management space, but has now resurfaced at State Street, which has seen recent turnover within its transition unit following a problematic transition event in 2011.

State Street has confirmed Minderides appointment. The firm declined to comment on the status of Boomgaardt.

State Street’s transition executive team has seen significant turnover as of late. Last year, UK-based Edward Pennings and Boston-based Ross McLellan left the firm following revelations that a UK-based pension fund had been overcharged on a fixed-income transition. Although money was reportedly returned to the client, Pennings and McLellan were dismissed in September and October, respectively. At the time, the firm commented: “State Street has conducted a review of a transition conducted earlier this year for a UK client. We have concluded that this client should be reimbursed and we have done so. Our review also concluded that in completing this transition, certain employees did not meet the standards we expect of them. We have zero tolerance for this behavior.”

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NYC Comptroller Liu Voices Pension Commitment to Minority and Women Investment Managers

New York City Comptroller John Liu has expanded the city's pension funds' commitment to minority and women investment managers by $500 million.

(January 17, 2012) — New York City pension funds will seek to expand their commitment to minority and women investment managers by $500 million, comptroller John C. Liu has announced.

The move will solidify the city’s position as one of the top pension systems in the nation doing business with minority and women-owned enterprises (MWBEs), Liu said. “This $500 million commitment is another step in ensuring that minority and women-owned firms have more opportunities to compete for City business,” Liu said in a statement. “It also ensures that the City has access to the best and brightest in the financial industry. When we increase opportunities, we increase competition and that ultimately benefits taxpayers.”

With today’s announcement, the pension funds will seek to grow their commitment to MWBE investment managers by $500 million – on top of the $6 billion already under management by MWBE firms. The funds oversee a combined $115 billion.

Orim Graves, Executive Director of the National Association of Securities Professionals, added: “This represents a significant step towards the City fulfilling what should be a long term commitment of doing business with minority and woman-owned enterprises, who have continuously proven to add value to the NYC Pension Systems.” 

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Liu’s office also created the “MWBE Report Card NYC” website (http://mwbereportcardnyc.com) which tracks the amount that each city agency spends with minority and women-owned businesses.

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