Successful personal relationships are built on trust; lasting ones require ongoing communication, mutual growth and flexibility. Our client relationships are no different. Whether bringing on new business or expanding the scope of services and solutions we provide, we strive to be an essential, enduring partner to our institutional investor clients worldwide.
Client satisfaction remained a key focus for us in 2019. We instituted new levels of consistency and standardization in our client onboarding process, as we identified it as an area where we could drive tangible improvements. We now view onboarding as a competitive differentiator in terms of the programmatic focus and rigor we place around it. Consistently positive client feedback has confirmed the value of these changes.
Our efforts to build long-term relationships start as soon as we begin to work with a new client, or take on a new project with an existing one. First, we leverage a transparent, systematic framework that outlines the steps and imperatives for success to convert their business and assets. The process ensures that we understand what each client needs and expects from State Street, and what business success looks like to them. This client orientation is one way we reinforce that they’ve made the right decision to choose us or switch service providers, and it’s the first step toward building a successful and lasting partnership.
Supported by team members around the globe — who know that hard work and late nights are an inherent part of the onboarding process — almost US$6 trillion in new assets from some of the industry’s leading institutions were onboarded in 2019 — on time, on budget and as important, with no surprises along the way.
Concurrently, work also continued in our new Global Clients Division, which devotes dedicated resources to support our most complex global relationships. In 2019, we appointed senior global client executives to be directly accountable for the overall satisfaction and business growth of select firms that require solutions to complex challenges across the entire value chain. We created and shared comprehensive plans about how we can become more of a strategic partner to our clients, enable their growth and help them derive additional value from State Street’s range of solutions. The plans included key performance indicators, financials and shared measures of success.
As part of this client-centric servicing model, we tapped into the insights and deep industry knowledge of our product experts to help clients identify and seize growth opportunities. For example, our leadership in managing and servicing exchange traded funds (ETFs) helped us anticipate the 2019 regulatory approval of a new class of semi-transparent active ETFs — Precidian Investments’ ActiveSharesSM — that make ETFs increasingly attractive for investors.
Feedback on the efforts of our Global Clients Division was overwhelmingly positive, as clients reported immediate improvements in collaboration in aligning and integrating global operating models. This sentiment was reinforced using the Net Promoter Score® (NPS®) process.*
Our largest strategic clients are increasingly willing to recommend State Street to an industry colleague. They see more decision-making power and service consistency delivered through their client executives, and we’re doing a better job of being their single “window” into State Street.
Although disruptive, the devastating global pandemic and subsequent market turmoil of 2020 exemplifies the true strength of our relationships. As conditions continue to shift and clients execute a variety of contingency plans, we stand by our commitment to be a seamless extension of their businesses, addressing operational challenges as they arise, and offering alternative solutions to ease their concerns. It’s further proof we are stronger together, in any and all conditions.