Munich, February 7, 2005 — "Fonds Professionell", a German trade publication,together with fund research and rating company, Morningstar, has distinguished State Street Global Advisors as Asset Manager of the Year 2004 in the "large fund management companies" category. State Street Global Advisors, the investment management arm of State Street Corporation (NYSE: STT) is the largest institutional fund manager in the world. The group has had a presence in Germany since 1998 through its subsidiary State Street Global Advisors GmbH based in Munich.

The very first awards of the "German fund prize" in Mannheim distinguished the most successful providers in the categories of pension fund managers and equity fund managers, in each case for large and small investment companies, as well as those providing the best service. All financial products allowed for distribution in Germany were included in the survey. The valuations were based on the ratings by Morningstar for individual funds. They took into account performance and volatility over a three—year period and also considered asset—based fees.

"We are delighted to have won this distinction from Morningstar and Fonds professionell," said Klaus Esswein, managing director of State Street Global Advisors in Germany. "It confirms that our funds, which are available to both institutional and private investors, are outstanding products."

State Street Global Advisors' suite of investment products includes active equity strategies, exchange—traded funds, and a family of index funds comprised of 20 country sub—funds, eleven sector funds, and two pension funds approved for premium reserve fund investment — a Euro—denominated corporate bond fund and a Euro—denominated government bond fund. With this wide array of products, investors can gain exposure to almost all regions and business areas reproduced in the MSCI World, as well as the EU pension markets most important to German investors.

State Street Global Advisors' active equity strategies for institutional and private investors utilise a highly disciplined and risk—controlled process of stock selection within industries, using computer—aided analyses of performance and financial data, and under or overweighted against the index. According to Esswein: "Our investment solutions cover the entire risk—return spectrum, from passive to enhanced to active."

State Street Global Advisors, the investment management group of State Street Corporation, delivers investment strategies and integrated solutions to clients worldwide across every asset class, investment approach and style. With $1.4 trillion (as of December 31, 2004) in investment programs and portfolios, State Street Global Advisors has investment centers in Boston, Hong Kong, London, Milan, Montreal, Munich, Paris, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo, and Zurich, and offices in 28 cities worldwide. For more information, visit State Street Global Advisors at www.ssga.com .