State Street Global Advisors is an asset management organization from the US. State Street Corporation, which it is part of, is a top financial services provider to institutional investors as well as industry research, investment trading and management, and other services. It implements investment strategies for its clients, including influential entities such as governments and large corporations across the globe.
Established in 1978, State Street Global Advisors had its first office in Boston. A little over ten years later, it was formed as a separate entity from the parent company with a mission of global expansion. The first international office appeared in London. It opened ten more locations in other countries in four years and added another five during the next five years. As of 2022, the company had over two thousand institutional clients and three and a half trillion dollars in assets it was managing for the clients.
What is State Street?
State Street Global Advisors (SSGA) is an investment management division of the State Street Corporation. It is one of the top five asset management organization in the world and operates in over 100 countries, employing about 40 thousand people worldwide.
The first logo was a combination of an inscription and an image. The image was a very realistic drawing of a ship with white sails. The image could be interpreted as the fact that the company will safely carry its clients through the ups and downs of the financial world. The logo was done in blue and white colors, which enhanced the image of a trustworthy and reliable institution. The inscription featured a strong font with bracketed serifs.
In 1996, the logo featured only the full name along with the initials. The “State Street Global Advisors” portion was printed using the same bracketed serif font as in the previous logo. The only difference is that it was now in black. The initials featured a different serif font. A unique touch was added with the use of a lowercase “G”, which stood for “Global” and had a blue globe for the circle. It was a minimalistic and professional-looking emblem that was used by the institution for fifteen years.
The new visual identity of the organization was presented in pleasant green. There was one element that stayed unchanged since the foundation. It was the font used to print the full name. However, here it was not the main element. Instead, the logo featured a large acronym SPDR, which stands for Standard & Poor’s Depositary Receipt ETF. Although the ETF was launched in 1993, this fact was not reflected in the logo. The designers also drew a spider above the acronym since many individuals refer to these ETFs as spiders. The spider spread its eight legs and was almost the same width as both inscriptions.
Originally, the company was quite conservative with its color choices. First, it was a blue-and-white color palette, which was a visual representation of the institution’s reliability and stability. Then, it was predominantly black with just a bit of blue. Black is the color of power and is chosen by many companies for a formal and timeless look. In 2011, it surprised with a green color palette. This color is first of all associated with safety, which is an important feature for such institutions. It also symbolizes growth, stability, and reliability. The meaning behind this color makes it clear why State Farm went for green. The use of the same strong, bracketed serif typeface for its name since the foundation further strengthened this positive impression.