Ron O'Hanley says that big acquisitions don't have to be in State Street Global Advisors' (SSgA's [profile]) future. And SSgA isn't going to sell around FAs, either.

"We don't need to do a transformational deal," O'Hanley tells the Financial Times. "M&A is not itself a strategy. It is a way to implement a strategy."

The FT's Chris Flood interviews the SSgA president and CEO about the $2.4-trillion asset manager's future. O'Hanley confirms that SSgA is staying focused on institutions and intermediaries for distribution.

"You will not see us go directly to retail investors," O'Hanley tells the paper. "Vanguard can't make that promise to advisers."

SSgA watchers will want to dig into the full article. Topics covered include: O'Hanley's resume (leading BNY Mellon asset management and Fidelity asset management before taking over SSgA last year); SSgA's $485-million acquisition of GE Asset Management; the $302 billion in net outflows SSgA suffered in 2015; SSgA's market-share slip in ETFs (to number two in 2003, then to number three in 2015); O'Hanley rolling his eyes "a little at rivals that now claim to be smart beta providers"; and his public worries about retirement savings in the U.S.

Oh, and O'Hanley also reveals his favored method to "clear the mind": spending a couple of days sailing. 

Edited by: Neil Anderson, Managing Editor


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