CitiStreet aligns with Watson Wyatt

Superannuation fund administrator CitiStreet Australia has struck a deal with global consulting group Watson Wyatt with the pair signing a ‘long-term’ agreement.

The agreement will see CitiStreet provide administration services to Watson Wyatt clients in Australia, while the global consulting firm will deliver compliance and research consulting services, along with actuarial and consulting services to CitiStreet’s administration clients.

The announcement comes just weeks after the pair unveiled their first joint outsourcing deal to provide an administration and consulting packaging to super fund, Equipsuper,

The latest agreement will allow Watson Wyatt to focus on providing consulting services rather than administration - these include actuarial and employee benefits, investment consulting, employee communication, human capital strategies and related technology solutions.

“Administration businesses require a regular and significant investment in technology in order to provide the systems and processes required to meet our clients’ increasingly complex needs,” Watson Wyatt director Brad Jeffrey says.

The deal will see Watson Wyatt transfer its administration operation and staff to CitiStreet, although all client responsibility will remain with the consulting group.

CitiStreet Australia managing director Gary Cox says the deal reinforces administration firm’s position in the market.

“We see significant opportunity for CitiStreet in the Australian market. As a global organisation, our systems and services provide the flexibility and depth of resources which will become even more vital to compete effectively in a choice-of-fund environment,” Cox says.

CitiStreet is a US-based joint venture between Citigroup and State Street and has over 10 million clients worldwide through the funds it administers, that in turn collectively have more than $250 billion in assets.