Columbia Threadneedle Strikes Major Back Office Outsourcing Deal with State Street

Asset management giant Columbia Threadneedle just handed its back-office operations to State Street—a move that reshapes operational dynamics across traditional finance.

Streamlining Through Outsourcing

The firm cuts internal overhead by shifting non-core functions to a specialist. No job numbers disclosed, but the strategic pivot signals deeper cost-optimization trends.

State Street's Expanding Footprint

Another custody heavyweight adds scale—because nothing says innovation like letting someone else handle your paperwork. The deal reinforces the ongoing consolidation in financial infrastructure services.

Finance's Open Secret: Outsourcing Isn’t Edge—It’s Surrender

While traditional firms play hot potato with back-office duties, crypto-native platforms bake efficiency into their DNA from day one. Maybe if legacy finance spent less time outsourcing problems and more time solving them, they’d keep pace with decentralized finance’s operational elegance.

Columbia Threadneedle Investments announced that it has selected State Street Corporation as the service provider for a unified and outsourced global back office. State Street will provide fund accounting, administration and custody services for Columbia Threadneedle’s pooled funds, including ETFs, in the U.S. and Europe, drawing on State Street’s significant capabilities and broad industry experience.

In North America, Columbia Threadneedle will transition and consolidate fund accounting, administration and custody services for its U.S. pooled funds and other fund ranges with State Street. More than 100 Columbia Threadneedle employees who provide fund accounting and administration services are expected to transfer to comparable roles at State Street, providing continuity of service and expertise to fund shareholders while leveraging State Street’s investment servicing capabilities.

In Europe, Columbia Threadneedle will further consolidate fund accounting, administration, depositary and custody services for its UK and Luxembourg-based pooled funds with State Street1, building on an existing and long-standing relationship between the firms.

David Logan, Head of EMEA and Global Business Operations at Columbia Threadneedle, said:

“Enhancing our operating platform is a strategic priority for Columbia Threadneedle and Core to our growth strategy. Expanding our long-standing relationship with State Street will drive important efficiencies as we continue to enhance our operating model to meet the evolving needs of investors globally.”

“We have enjoyed a successful decades-long relationship with Columbia Threadneedle and look forward to helping them continue their commitment to operational excellence and expanding our services to support the next phase of their growth,” said Joerg Ambrosius, president of Investment Services at State Street. “As leading asset managers like Columbia Threadneedle look to build scale and expand into new markets, we are well-positioned to provide them with full-service solutions.”

Columbia Threadneedle is committed to operational excellence and delivering a best-in-class client experience. We expect this consolidation of service providers to create efficiencies and savings for fund shareholders and Columbia Threadneedle. We do not expect a material financial impact for Ameriprise Financial, Columbia Threadneedle’s parent company. The consolidation and outsourcing of back-office services to State Street will begin in the fourth quarter of 2025 and is expected to take approximately one year to complete.

Source: Columbia Threadneedle Investments