State Street Global Advisors' top sales and marketing executive, Jamie Kase, has hired Barry Smith as global head of the cash business, which includes money market mutual funds.

Smith, 44, arrived at SSgA on Monday, company spokesperson Arlene Roberts told The MFWire. Smith's post is new.

As the leader of the cash business, Smith is in charge of all non-investment activities associated with SSgA's $500 billion global cash business, including distribution, pricing, product development and client service.

Most recently, Smith was managing director and head of BlackRock's private label cash management business. He joined BlackRock through its acquisition of Merrill Lynch Investment Managers in 2006.

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Company Press Release

BOSTON - (Business Wire) State Street Global Advisors (SSgA), the investment management business of State Street Corporation (NYSE: STT), today announced the appointment of Barry F. X. Smith as global head of its Cash business.

In this new position, Smith, 44, will be responsible for all non-investment activities associated with SSgA’s $500 billion global cash business, including distribution, pricing, product development, and client service. He reports to James Kase, executive vice president and head of Global Sales and Marketing, and will work closely with the cash investment management team led by Steve Meier, executive vice president and Global Cash chief investment officer, to ensure a cohesive approach to building the business.

With a disciplined investment process, SSgA has been managing cash for more than three decades and is today among the leading managers in this asset class. Its cash investment team has extensive experience managing funds through all market environments and has delivered consistently strong risk-adjusted performance.

“While SSgA is already among the leading managers of cash assets globally, it was clear that we needed an experienced industry veteran to help drive the business to the next level,” said Kase. “Barry has spent his entire career in the cash business and has a strong mix of leadership and business management skills that makes him uniquely qualified to perform this role. We believe that the recent market crisis will create more opportunities for firms like SSgA, which performed well and have emerged strongly from this market disruption. Barry’s addition to our team will only serve to enhance this success.”

Smith joins SSgA from BlackRock, where he most recently served as managing director and head of the Private Label Cash Management business. There, he was a member of the global Cash Management Executive Group, responsible for all aspects of distributing, managing and servicing the company’s liquidity management products. Smith joined BlackRock via its acquisition of Merrill Lynch Investment Managers, where he served as head of institutional cash management and in various sales and marketing management roles over the course of 19 years. Smith holds a B.A. in financial economics from Saint Anselm College.

“I am very excited to be joining one of the largest and most well respected managers of cash in the world,” said Smith. “The credit and portfolio management teams dedicated to cash management at SSgA are among the best in the industry. It is a highly talented and experienced group with an institutional investment process that is well positioned to address the needs of clients in a challenging and evolving liquidity marketplace.”

State Street Global Advisors, investment management business of State Street Corporation (NYSE: STT), delivers investment strategies and integrated solutions to clients worldwide across every asset class, investment approach and style. With $1.9 trillion in assets under management at December 31, 2009, State Street Global Advisors has investment centers in Boston, Hong Kong, London, Montreal, Paris, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo, Toronto and Zurich, and offices in 26 cities worldwide. For more information, visit State Street Global Advisors at www.ssga.com  

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