a few snippets from that link....
Controversies
Currency trade fraud
In 2009,
California alleged on behalf of its pension funds
CalPERS and
CalSTRS that State Street had committed fraud on currency trades handled by the custodian bank.
[50][51]
Non-disclosure of short position
On February 28, 2012, State Street Global Advisors entered into a consent order with the
Massachusetts Securities Division. The Division was investigating the firm's role as the investment manager of a $1.65 billion (USD) hybrid
collateralized debt obligation. The investigation resulted in a fine of $5 million (USD) for the non-disclosure of certain initial investors taking a short position on portions of the CDO.
[52]
Shareholder complaints
During the May 2012 annual shareholders meeting, chairman and chief executive Jay Hooley was shouted down on numerous occasions by protesters in relation to the outsourcing and other grievances.
[53]
Undisclosed commissions
On January 18, 2017, State Street agreed to pay $64.6 million to resolve U.S. investigations into what prosecutors said was a scheme to defraud six clients through secret commissions on billions of dollars of trades.
[54][55]
Fearless Girl statue
In March 2017, State Street Global Advisors commissioned a statue called
Fearless Girl by
Kristen Visbal and placed it temporarily in the
Financial District, Manhattan, in front of the
Wall Street icon
Charging Bull. The statue is an advertisement for an
index fund which comprises gender diverse companies that have a higher percentage of women among their senior leadership.
[56] While some have seen it as an encouragement of
women in business, some women criticized the statue as "corporate feminism" that violated their own
feminist principles.
[57][58][59][60] In October 2017, the company paid $5 million to settle a lawsuit charging that it had paid certain female and black executives less than their male and white peers.
[61]
Climate change
State Street announced in January 2020 that State Street Global Advisors will vote against directors of companies in major stock indices that do not meet targets for
environmental, social, and governance changes.
[62] According to Morningstar Proxy Data, State Street, "supported a majority of the climate-related disclosure requests that shareholders placed on the ballot," during the 2020 proxy season.
[63]
Investments in China
In February 2025, a group of 17 U.S. state attorneys general criticized State Street for making improper or inadequate disclosures about investments in China.
[64]
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