J.P. Morgan to act as custodian for merged LG Super and City Super fund
City Super, the superannuation fund for current and former employees of Brisbane City Council, has appointed J.P. Morgan Treasury & Securities Services (TSS) as custodian and administration provider.
Bryan Gray, Head of Treasury & Securities Services Sales and Client Management said the new $1.5 billion mandate further strengthened J.P. Morgan’s position in the investment and administration sector.
“Although custody and administration is increasingly becoming a scale driven business, clients are continually seeking tailored solutions. As a provider, we are constantly looking for ways to meet these needs and believe this was a determining factor in winning the mandate,” he said.
City Super has already announced it will merge with an existing client of J.P. Morgan, Local Government Super (LG Super), on 30 June 2011 and therefore will require an investment administration provider with a strong transition management offering. J.P. Morgan was able to demonstrate its substantial experience in executing large scale transition management projects, including those driven by fund mergers or by major changes to a fund’s asset allocations.
Our previous experience with fund mergers definitely worked in our favour, as we could show real world examples of our discipline in this area. With industry consolidation expected to continue, J.P. Morgan’s fund merger experience will continue to position us as a leading service provider,” Mr Gray said.
Once the two funds are merged, J.P. Morgan will also look at ways of optimising the custody and administration process.
“We are currently in discussions with LG Super and City Super to find ways to optimise the custody and administration offering. We are committed to ensuring our services are the best possible fit for the new fund including providing tax propagation, currency overlay and securities lending services,” he said.
The mandate win reinforces J.P. Morgan Treasury & Security Services’ commitment to the Australian & New Zealand market after hiring more than 100 additional employees during 2010, many in senior positions. The hires were not only in line with increased growth expectations but also to better service existing clients.
“Our prospects in 2011 are strong and we have the right team in place to continue the growth we have seen locally and in Asia Pacific. We will continue to develop strong partnerships, elevate our client service offering and enhance our range of market leading products,” Mr Gray concluded.