Boston, March 18, 2008 – State Street Global Markets,
the investment research and trading arm of State Street Corporation (NYSE:STT),
today released the results of the State Street Investor Confidence Index®
for March 2008.
Global Investor Confidence rose by 4.8 points from a revised January level
of 72.6 to reach 77.4. Amongst North American investors, confidence rose 5.4
points from 78.1 to 83.5, and risk appetite in other regions complemented this,
with European investor confidence rising from 84.0 to 88.6, and Asian investor
confidence rising from 85.2 to 88.0.
Developed through State Street Global Markets’ research partnership,
State Street Associates, by Harvard University professor Ken Froot and State
Street Associates Director Paul O’Connell, the State Street Investor Confidence
Index measures investor confidence on a quantitative basis by analyzing the
actual buying and selling patterns of institutional investors. The index is
based on financial theory that assigns precise meaning to changes in investor
risk appetite, or the willingness of investors to allocate their portfolios
to equities. The more of their portfolio that institutional investors are willing
to devote to equities, the greater their risk appetite or confidence.
“This month’s confidence reading sees a continuation of the slow
improvement in global institutional investor confidence since it registered
an all-time low of 65.9 last December,” commented Froot. “The increases
remain modest, and our data does not yet reflect the latest round of interventions
by the US Federal Reserve, so caution is still the watchword.”
“This month’s increase, though moderate, was relatively broad-based,
as institutional investors in North America, Europe and Asia increased their
allocations to equities somewhat” added O’Connell. “The allocations
were discriminating, though, with financial and consumer discretionary stocks
favored over technology and materials.”

About State Street Global Markets:
State Street Global Markets provides specialized investment research and trading
in foreign exchange, equities, fixed income and derivatives. Its goal is to
enhance and preserve portfolio values for asset managers and asset owners. From
its unique position at the crossroads of the global markets, it creates and
unlocks value for its clients with original flow-based research, innovative
portfolio strategies, trade process optimization, and global connectivity across
multiple asset classes and markets.
State Street Global Markets’ research team of leading academic and industry
experts is committed to continually advancing the science, including theory
and application of its proprietary investor behavior research and innovative
portfolio & risk management technologies to help its clients challenge conventional
thinking, shape ideas, make more informed investment decisions and deliver measurable
results.
About the State Street Investor Confidence Index®
The index is released globally at 10 a.m. Eastern time in Boston on the second
to last Tuesday of each month. More information on the State Street Investor
Confidence Index, including frequently asked questions and a calendar of release
dates, is available at http://www.statestreet.com/investorconfidenceindex.
The previous month’s calculations for the index are revised to account
for trading activity through the end of the reporting period.
About State Street:
State Street Corporation (NYSE: STT) is the world's leading provider of financial
services to institutional investors including investment servicing, investment
management and investment research and trading. With $15.3 trillion in assets
under custody and $2 trillion in assets under management at December 31, 2007,
State Street operates in 26 countries and more than 100 geographic markets worldwide.
For more information, visit State Street’s web site at www.statestreet.com.
This news announcement contains forward-looking statements as defined by United
States securities laws, including statements about the financial outlook and
business environment. Those statements are based on current expectations and
involve a number of risks and uncertainties, including those related to the
pace at which State Street adds new clients or at which existing clients use
additional services, the value of global and regional financial markets, the
pace of cross-border investment activity, changes in interest rates, the pace
of worldwide economic growth and rates of inflation, the extent of volatility
in currency markets, consolidations among clients and competitors, State Street’s
business mix, the dynamics of markets State Street serves, and State Street’s
success at integrating and converting acquisitions into its business. Other
important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from
those indicated by any forward-looking statements are set forth in State Street's
2006 annual report and subsequent SEC filings. State Street encourages investors
to read the corporation's annual report, particularly the section on factors
that may affect financial results, and its subsequent SEC filings for additional
information with respect to any forward-looking statements and prior to making
any investment decision. The forward-looking statements contained in this press
release speak only as of the date hereof, March 18, 2008, and the company will
not undertake efforts to revise those forward-looking statements to reflect
events after this date.
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