State Street in Australia has followed its European and Asian businesses by linking up the Investor Services and Global Markets divisions under the one head.

Ian Martin, who has headed up Global Markets since early this year, has been promoted to the new position overseeing Investor Services as well.

He said he would be stepping back from some of his Global Markets responsibilities, such as regional trading, and splitting himself between the two Sydney offices.

The Investor Services position has been vacant since May when Peter Baker, who returned from London to head up that division in January, resigned to pursue other interests.

Martin, who has been with State Street for about 15 years, said the move to marry the two divisions at the top  for Australia and New Zealand was logical following the success of such a structure in the UK and Asia.

“With Global Markets working more closely with Investor Services this recognises that we want to provide more than just custody services to clients,” he said.

“It should be beneficial to clients who see State Street as one organisation. In the past, it’s probably only the people who work at State Street who see them as different organisations.”

The move was echoed by the earlier appointment of Greg O’Sullivan to a senior sales position straddling State Street’s custody and global markets offerings.

State Street Global Advisors, the funds management arm, remains separate under Rob Goodlad.

Goodlad and Martin will now sit together on the
two-member committee which governs the company’s interests in Australia.