SSGA welcomes new chief operating officer
State Street Global Advisors (SSGA) has appointed a new executive vice president and chief operating officer to its leadership team.
SSGA, the asset management business of State Street Corporation, announced that James Ferrarelli has taken up the position of executive vice president and chief operating officer.
Ferrarelli will report to SSGA chief executive Yie-Hsin Hung and oversee the delivery of its technology, systems, and operational infrastructure to support all asset classes, client segments, and geographies.
Prior to joining the asset manager, Ferrarelli spent nearly nine years at financial services firm Charles Schwab. He held several investment management technology positions before serving as chief information officer of its wealth and asset management divisions.
During his time as CIO at Charles Schwab, Ferrarelli was responsible for technology strategy, application design and development, third-party product integration, and production management of technology platforms.
He also held senior technology leadership roles at JP Morgan Asset Management and Morgan Stanley Investment Management.
Commenting on his appointment, Hung said: “We are thrilled to welcome James to State Street Global Advisors as our chief operating officer. I look forward to him joining our leadership team and working with him to implement a strategic vision aimed at building a top-tier operations and technology environment.”
Ferrarelli remarked: “I am excited to join the dynamic leadership team at State Street Global Advisors as chief operating officer. Leveraging my industry experience, I am eager to help boost efficiency, quality, and scaleability that will position the firm for continued success in the years to come.”
Last week, State Street announced it will cut fees on six of its SPDR exchange-traded funds (ETFs) from 1 July. The fee cuts affect ETFs in Australian equities, international equities, listed property, and emerging markets.
| ETF name | Old fee | New fee |
| SPDR® S&P® World ex Australia Carbon Control Fund | 0.18 | 0.07 |
| SPDR® S&P® World ex Australia Carbon Control (Hedged) Fund | 0.21 | 0.10 |
| SPDR® S&P®/ASX 50 Fund | 0.28 | 0.20 |
| SPDR® Dow Jones® Global Real Estate ESG Fund | 0.50 | 0.20 |
| SPDR® S&P®/ASX 200 Listed Property Fund | 0.40 | 0.16 |
| SPDR® S&P® Emerging Markets Carbon Control Fund | 0.65 | 0.35 |
Source: State Street, June 2024
The SPDR® S&P®/ASX 50 Fund was among the first ETFs launched in Australia back in 2001, alongside the SPDR® S&P®/ASX 200 Fund, and is now $803 million in assets under management.
AUTHOR
Jasmine Siljic
Recommended for you
The merger with L1 Capital will “inject new life” into Platinum, Morningstar believes, but is unlikely to boost Platinum’s declining funds under management.
More than half of the top 20 most popular shares bought by advised investors during the first half of 2025 were ETFs, according to AUSIEX data.
At least two-thirds of ETF flows are understood to be driven by intermediaries, according to Global X, as net flows into Australian ETFs spike 97 per cent in the first half of 2025.
Inflows for the first half of 2025 for GQG Partners stand at US$8 billion, but the firm has flagged fund underperformance could be a headwind for future flows.
