State Street appoints new head for SPDR ETF business

Kathleen Gallagher
KATHLEEN GALLAGHER
State Street Australia Limited - Head of SPDR ETFs
APPOINTMENT
STATE STREET AUSTRALIA LIMITED
Date: 29 September 2021
Position: Head of SPDR ETFs
By Elizabeth Fry

State Street Global Advisors has made a series of senior appointments including Kathleen Gallagher as head of its SPDR exchange-traded funds business in Australia.

Gallagher, who will continue on as head of ETF model portfolios in the Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, will relocate to Sydney.

"The Australian ETF market has grown five-fold in the last five years to hit 122.78 billion,  with even conservative estimates putting it on track to double again by 2024," she said.

"We are committed to strengthening our relationships with clients and continuing to grow our SPDR ETFs business in Australia, and indeed the entire Asia Pacific, and leveraging our local know-how and global capabilities to provide investors with a comprehensive suite of investment solutions that meet their evolving needs."

State Street has also hired Marie Tsang as an SPDR fixed-income strategist for the Asia Pacific and Jean Gan as an SPDR fixed-income sales specialist for Singapore, Hong Kong, and Australia.

The two fixed-income appointments are newly created roles.

Tsang joined from BlackRock, where she was most recently the senior investment strategist for BlackRock portfolio analysis and solutions. Gan moved from MUFG Securities where she was the director for institutional investor sales.

Finally, Robin Tsui, the firm's Asia Pacific gold strategist, will also fill the role of gold sales specialist for Hong Kong.

All four will report to Meaghan Victor, head of SPDR ETFs Asia Pacific Distribution at State Street Global Advisors, based in Sydney.

"Our SPDR ETFs business in the Asia Pacific is one of State Street Global Advisors' priorities and we are delighted to continue to invest in more top talent and resources and demonstrate our commitment to the region," Victor said.

"Kathleen and Robin's expanded roles, alongside the two newly created roles of SPDR fixed-income strategist and SPDR fixed income sales specialist, reflect our commitment to meeting the increasing demand from our clients and strengthening our capabilities in the fixed income market in the region."