BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 23, 2004--State Street Associates,
a subsidiary of State Street Corporation (NYSE: STT), the world's
leading provider of services to institutional investors, released
today the results of the State Street Investor Confidence Index(SM)
for March 2004.
According to the March index, investor confidence declined 1.7
points from February's revised reading of 93.9.
Developed by Harvard University professor Ken Froot and Paul
O'Connell of State Street Associates, the index shows that
institutional investor confidence has fallen by 16.8 points from its
December 2003 high of 109.0.
"Our index confirms the view that equity prices at the end of 2003
had reflected a complacency about significant risks that is now gone.
Sentiment shifted strongly to the negative beginning in January 2004
and has continued this pattern in each of the last two months," said
Froot.
"The index decline of 1.7 points, coming on the heels of a
two-month decline of 15.1, is a substantial drawdown in sentiment by
historical standards," added O'Connell. "Institutional investors
caught this 2004 cold before consumers began to sniffle."
In the six months since its initial launch in September 2003, the
State Street Investor Confidence Index(SM) has become a key economic
indicator for asset owners, investment managers and central banks. As
the only index providing a quantitative measure tracking the common
buying patterns of institutional investors around the world, the State
Street Investor Confidence Index(SM) offers a unique look into the
investment behavior of thousands of professional investors and their
investment decisions.
About State Street Associates:
Founded in 1999 in Cambridge, Mass., State Street Associates
develops portfolio and flow research, currency management, asset
allocation services and designs strategy tools to support the needs of
global portfolio managers.
About the State Street Investor Confidence Index(SM)
The index will be released at 10 a.m. Eastern time in Boston on
the second to last Tuesday of each month and released globally. More
information on the State Street Investor Confidence Index, and a
calendar of release dates, is available at
http://www.statestreet.com/investorconfidenceindex. The previous
month's calculations for the index will be revised to account for
trading activity through the end of the reporting period.
About State Street
State Street Corporation (NYSE: STT) is the world's leading
specialist in providing institutional investors with investment
servicing, investment management, research and analytics and trading
services. With $9.4 trillion in assets under custody and $1.1 trillion
in assets under management, State Street operates in 24 countries and
more than 100 markets worldwide. For more information, visit State
Street's Web site at www.statestreet.com.
This news announcement contains forward-looking statements as
defined by United States securities laws, including statements about
the financial outlook and business environment. Those statements are
based on current expectations and involve a number of risks and
uncertainties, including those related to the pace at which State
Street adds new clients or at which existing clients use additional
services, the value of global and regional financial markets, the pace
of cross-border investment activity, changes in interest rates, the
pace of worldwide economic growth and rates of inflation, the extent
of volatility in currency markets, consolidations among clients and
competitors, State Street's business mix, the dynamics of markets
State Street serves, and State Street's success at integrating and
converting acquisitions into its business. Other important factors
that could cause actual results to differ materially from those
indicated by any forward-looking statements are set forth in State
Street's 2003 annual report and subsequent SEC filings. State Street
encourages investors to read the corporation's annual report,
particularly the section on factors that may affect financial results,
and its subsequent SEC filings for additional information with respect
to any forward-looking statements and prior to making any investment
decision. The forward-looking statements contained in this press
release speak only as of the date hereof, March 23, 2004, and the
company will not undertake efforts to revise those forward-looking
statements to reflect events after this date.
MULTIMEDIA AVAILABLE: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=4600278
CONTACT: State Street CorporationHannah Grove, 617-664-3377
or
Carolyn Cichon, 617-664-8672
SOURCE: State Street Corporation