State Street Plans to Challenge 401(k) Market with Low-Cost Mutual Fund Share Classes

State Street, a $1.7 trillion ETF giant, plans to offer mutual fund share classes of its ETF strategies in the U.S. retirement plan market, which has typically been closed to ETFs. The decision comes after the Securities and Exchange Commission allowed fund companies to create ETF share classes of traditional mutual funds. State Street sees this as an opportunity to bring a new ETF challenge to the retirement plan market, estimating its size at $4 trillion. The company believes its low fees and massive scale give it an advantage in offering competitive portfolio offerings.