David Travers

Data released yesterday by the Australian Custodial Services Association (ACSA), the peak industry body for custodians and asset service providers in Australia, revealed a 1.9% rise in assets under custody to $4.5 trillion in the six months to 31 December 2023.

Source: Australian Custodial Services Association, full breakdown available at https://acsa.com.au/page/IndustryStatistics

Markets demonstrated increased stability in the second half of 2023, with assets under custody in December 2023 maintaining a gradual increase from the June reporting period. Individual custodians experienced different performance outcomes throughout the year due to increased custody asset movements within the industry (for more details visit ACSA’s website).

According to the latest ACSA data, Australian investors increased their allocation to overseas assets during the period by 5.1% to $1.6 trillion, with Australian-domiciled investments remaining stable at $2.9 trillion. Assets held in Australia on behalf of offshore investors (sub-custody assets) increased by 5.6% to exceed $2 trillion.

Asset servicing providers in Australia had $5.4 trillion in assets under administration as at 31 December 2023, up 3.0%, and settled 11.6 million trades in the six-month period, an increase of 1% over the previous six months. ACSA members, on average, settled approximately 89,250 trades per day on behalf of clients.

ACSA Chief Executive Officer David Travers said that the past six months ACSA has maintained its momentum, driven by significant market and regulatory change.

“Investors have continued to take advantage of offshore investment opportunities even though global economic factors have remained subdued, albeit green shoots of economic improvement are appearing. Locally, there has been surprising stability in the asset levels reported by ACSA, with relatively small changes in assets under custody and assets under administration on stable transaction volumes,” Mr Travers said.

“ACSA and its members remain focused on their response to regulatory change, the evolving changes to market framework, such as global market moves to T+1, and continued support for the ASX on CHESS and its replacement program.

“Innovation, digital asset evolution and standards remain a critical focus for achieving efficiency in custody and investment administration. ACSA remains well placed to address the opportunities and challenges in the coming year through our working groups and dedicated industry volunteers,” Mr Travers said.

Read the full datat report.  https://acsa.com.au/page/IndustryStatistics

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David Travers

Data released yesterday by the Australian Custodial Services Association (ACSA), the peak industry body for custodians and asset service providers in Australia, revealed a 1.9% rise in assets under custody to $4.5 trillion in the six months to 31 December 2023.

Source: Australian Custodial Services Association, full breakdown available at https://acsa.com.au/page/IndustryStatistics

Markets demonstrated increased stability in the second half of 2023, with assets under custody in December 2023 maintaining a gradual increase from the June reporting period. Individual custodians experienced different performance outcomes throughout the year due to increased custody asset movements within the industry (for more details visit ACSA’s website).

According to the latest ACSA data, Australian investors increased their allocation to overseas assets during the period by 5.1% to $1.6 trillion, with Australian-domiciled investments remaining stable at $2.9 trillion. Assets held in Australia on behalf of offshore investors (sub-custody assets) increased by 5.6% to exceed $2 trillion.

Asset servicing providers in Australia had $5.4 trillion in assets under administration as at 31 December 2023, up 3.0%, and settled 11.6 million trades in the six-month period, an increase of 1% over the previous six months. ACSA members, on average, settled approximately 89,250 trades per day on behalf of clients.

ACSA Chief Executive Officer David Travers said that the past six months ACSA has maintained its momentum, driven by significant market and regulatory change.

“Investors have continued to take advantage of offshore investment opportunities even though global economic factors have remained subdued, albeit green shoots of economic improvement are appearing. Locally, there has been surprising stability in the asset levels reported by ACSA, with relatively small changes in assets under custody and assets under administration on stable transaction volumes,” Mr Travers said.

“ACSA and its members remain focused on their response to regulatory change, the evolving changes to market framework, such as global market moves to T+1, and continued support for the ASX on CHESS and its replacement program.

“Innovation, digital asset evolution and standards remain a critical focus for achieving efficiency in custody and investment administration. ACSA remains well placed to address the opportunities and challenges in the coming year through our working groups and dedicated industry volunteers,” Mr Travers said.

Read the full datat report.  https://acsa.com.au/page/IndustryStatistics

The post Assets under custody in Australia rise by 2% in Dec half appeared first on AdviserVoice.

David Travers

Data released by the Australian Custodial Services Association (ACSA), the peak industry body for custodians and asset service providers in Australia, revealed a 2.1% rise in assets under custody to $4.4 trillion in the six months to 30 June 2023.

Source: Australian Custodial Services Association, full breakdown available at https://acsa.com.au/page/IndustryStatistics

During a period of volatility in local and global markets, assets under custody in June 2023 have rebounded to levels consistent with the prior quarter. Individual custodians experienced different performance outcomes throughout the year due to increased custody asset movements within the industry (Full details can be found in the statistics on ACSA’s website).

According to the latest ACSA data, Australian investors increased their allocation to overseas assets during the period by 9.7% to $1.5 trillion, and Australian-domiciled investments decreased by 1.5% to $2.9 trillion. Assets held in Australia on behalf of offshore investors (sub-custody assets) increased by 6.1% to $1.9 trillion.

Asset servicing providers in Australia had $5.2 trillion in assets under administration as at June 2023, up by 0.9% from $5.1 trillion, and settled 12 million trades in the six months to 30 June 2023, three per cent fewer than the previous six months. ACSA members on average settled approximately 91,600 trades per day on behalf of clients.

ACSA Chief Executive Officer David Travers said that the past six months had been fast-paced, driven by a significant amount of market and regulatory change.

“Macro local and global economic factors have led to surprising stability in the asset levels reported by ACSA, with relatively small changes in assets under custody and assets under administration on lower transaction volumes. The increase in assets allocated to non-Australian assets indicates that investors are clearly seeking to take advantage of offshore conditions,” Mr Travers said.

“Looking ahead, ACSA members will continue to focus on their response to regulatory change, their evolving role in supporting institutional involvement in digital assets, including cryptocurrencies, and ongoing support for the ASX on CHESS and its replacement program,” he added.

“Innovation, digital asset evolution, and standards remain a critical focus for achieving efficiency in custody and investment administration. ACSA remains well placed to address the opportunities and challenges in the coming year through a combination of our working groups and task forces.”

ACSA has changed its reporting from a breakdown of ACSA members’ static asset under custody data to industry-level trends on Australian assets under custody, sub-custody assets for foreign investors and assets under administration.

Read the report.

2022 award winners are:

• ACSA Award:
  • Nicole Carnovale, Northern Trust
  • Duncan Lyon, J.P. Morgan
• ACSA Service to the Industry Award
  • Marian Azer, Milestone Group

The awards were presented by ACSA Chair, Sally Surgeon, and CEO, David Travers at an industry event last Thursday 17 March.

Ms Surgeon said: “It is always a great pleasure to recognise individuals who go above and beyond in their work on behalf of the asset servicing industry, especially during the recent challenging and volatile period.

“As an industry body with a unique voluntary working group structure ACSA relies on industry professionals who give their time, knowledge and experience to advancing ACSA’s work. We greatly value the contribution of our working groups. Nominated by industry peers, these awards are ACSA’s way of acknowledge the outstanding contribution that a number of individuals have made to promoting positive change in the industry over the past year,” she said.

Nicole Carnovale, APAC Senior Product Manager for Data with Northern Trust

Nicole played a key industry role overseeing the revamp of the ACSA website in late 2020 and worked with great enthusiasm to bring the project to a successful conclusion in November 2021. She applied skills and focus to all dimensions of the website refresh including updated content, navigation, industry personas and a contemporary look and feel.  Nicole’s perseverance in keeping the review process on target and helping frame the right feedback to the website developer was key to achieving the quality revamp.

Duncan Lyon, Tax Product Manager, Securities Services, Australian and New Zealand at J.P. Morgan; Chair of the ACSA Tax Working Group

As Chair of ACSA’s Tax Working Group Duncan has gone over and beyond driving key initiatives, including the navigation of complex tax issues, that have benefited ACSA and the industry. Duncan has worked through technical and policy change in a collaborative style, encouraging input from the broader team. He has provided a key leadership role in drawing together considered industry views from fellow practitioners, driving consensus and formalising quality submissions. He consistently encourages a focus on issues affecting ACSA members and their clients through effective liaison with third-party bodies including ASFA, the FSC, Commonwealth Treasury and the ATO.

Marian Azer, Managing Director APAC & Global Head of Product, Milestone Group

Marian is this years’ Service to Industry Award Winner and is recognised for her significant contribution to the industry. This includes working within the custody and asset servicing industry in Australia across a variety of custodial banking entities, as consultant to the industry and in FinTech. Marian has been an active member of ACSA in various capacities including as Deputy Chair, Working Group participant, Executive sponsor and now, as an Associate member. She acts as a mentor to many young women associated directly and indirectly with ACSA across Superannuation, Asset Management and Wealth as part of recognising the need to attract and develop the next generation of talent.  Marian’s contributions have helped ACSA promote the Custody and Asset Servicing industry in Financial Services to be focused on enabling and powering the future of investment operations.

ACSA CEO, David Travers, said: “As CEO I am engaged actively with the ACSA Board, our working groups and taskforces. There are so many individuals who not only perform demanding day jobs, but who also step up to make a difference for our industry. Not only is this an amazing feature of our industry  it is in fact now part of the industry’s DNA. On behalf of the industry I congratulate Nicole, Duncan and Marian on their well-deserved awards, and extend thanks to all other contributors to the industry.”

David Travers

The Australian Custodial Services Association (ACSA), the peak industry body for custodians and asset service providers in Australia has released industry data showing assets under custody increased by 5.8 per cent to a new record of $4.7 trillion in the six months to 31 December 2021.

ACSA Chief Executive, David Travers, said the record result occurred on the back of strong financial markets in the December half and reflected confidence in the key services provided by the securities services industry.

“Our members reported a consistent increase for Australian and offshore assets for Australian investors of 6.1 per cent and 5.4 per cent respectively, compared to an increase of only 0.4 per cent for assets held onshore for foreign investors,” Mr Travers said.

“While part of this differential is the result of currency valuation changes and buoyancy in traded securities markets, it can also be traced to the long-term trend of institutional investors repositioning portfolios so as to seek balanced returns. There was also onboarding of new custody mandates on the part of some members evident in the relative movements during the half,” he said.

The statistics showed that asset servicing providers settled over 13 million trades during the six months to 31 December 2021. This equates to approximately 101,000 settled trades per day on behalf of clients.

“Innovation, leveraging the right technology partnerships and an ongoing focus on standards has been key to achieving efficiency in custody and investment administration,” Mr Travers said.

“Looking ahead to 2022, we expect our members’ focus will centre on the response to changing regulatory data reporting requirements, the evolving role of custodians in supporting institutional involvement in digital assets including cryptocurrencies, and the implementation of the ASX’s DLT-based replacement for CHESS. ACSA remains well placed to address the opportunities and challenges in the coming year through a combination of our working groups and task forces,” continued Mr Travers.

Hosted by Citi, the event reported record numbers with over 50 members attending the first series of member events for 2017.

Highlighting the various changes in the Association, ACSA Chair David Knights announced a new structure of the ACSA Board and its working groups while updating on focus areas for each group.

“We are facing a period of significant operational change going forward,” Mr Knights said in his welcome address.

“The custodial industry is responsible for $3 trillion of assets under custody and administration, and the work that all of our members do is important in helping our own organisations, and our clients, navigate this environment successfully.”

“ACSA has been working with regulators and the broader industry to address these challenges and implement changes to improve the efficiency of Australia’s funds management sector.”

Announcing the Board level changes, Mr Knights named Andrew Gibson as the replacement for Martin Carpenter from Citi who has stepped down after seven years on the Board. Daryl Crich of BNP Paribas was named Treasurer, taking over the role from Gordon Little. Daniel Cheever from State Street was appointed as Deputy Chair of ACSA Board off the back of his holistic contribution to the association.

Custodians of the sector recognised

The evening also saw five outstanding members of the custody sector recognised by their peers with the presentation of the 2017 ACSA Awards.

Reflecting his tremendous contribution to the industry and his capacity as Chair of the industry from 2013 to 2015, David Braga, Head of Securities Services, Australia and New Zealand at BNP Paribas, was singled out for the Service to Industry Award.

David led significant uplift in the ACSA organisation, establishing board protocols, and unifying the industry around key regulatory reforms – APRA Stronger Super Reporting, OTC Reporting Regime, mFund Settlement Services and move to T+2 for settlements.

Other members to be recognised for contribution to Associations’ strategic priorities were:

Scott Oakland (J.P. Morgan) has been an active contributor in both the Corporate Actions and Operations Working groups for nearly 10 years. In late 2016, Scott took on the Chair role of the Operations Working Group where he has been instrumental in consulting with the ASX and regulators on the CHESS replacement system.

Mick Giddings (NAB) was nominated for his contribution to the members of ACSA and clients through his continued role as Chair of the Tax Working group. In this role, Mick has contributed significant time and energy on the AMIT implementation task force, and has been responsible for driving multiple submissions to government on AMIT, CIV’s, WHT and stapled securities.

Vera Markovski (BNP Paribas) was awarded for her significant contribution to the ACSA Tax Working Group for at least 7 ½ years and to the ACSA AMIT Implementation Group for the last 12 months.

Lastly, Stephen Coutts (J.P. Morgan) was recognised for effectively and diligently chairing the ACSA Regulatory Working Group throughout 2016. Stephen has played a pivotal role in consultations with ASIC, APRA and AUSTRAC and has been a strong advocate for ACSA and its members.

“The Awards acknowledge individuals who are recognised by their peers for their professionalism, knowledge and significant contribution to the industry. They make a real difference to the efficiency and reputation of the custody industry,” Mr Knights said.

David Braga,

The Australian custodial and administration sector grew strongly in the first half of 2014 to just under $2.5 trillion, according to data released yesterday by the Australian Custodial Services Association (ACSA).

The latest industry statistics from ACSA, the peak industry body for Australia’s custody and asset administration sector, reveal the total assets under custody for Australian investors grew 6.3 per cent to $2.459 trillion in the six months to 30 June 2014.

Australian custodians are the safe keepers for $1.7 trillion of Australian assets and $740 billion non-Australian assets for Australian investors.

There was also a steady increase in Australian assets held under custody for foreign clients (sub-custody), which increased 8.2 per cent to a new high of $1.037 trillion. There were marginal increases in Australian assets under custody (up 3.3%) and non-Australian assets under custody (up 14.5%) for Australian investors.

Mr David Braga, Chair of ACSA, said the latest statistics reflect the continued importance of the sector in the role it plays for financial services in Australia.

“In addition to the role as safe keepers of close to $2.5 trillion of assets, the past twelve months have seen additional demands for regulatory reporting that highlights the role of custodians as primary record keepers and providers of investment infrastructure,” Mr Braga said.

“The importance of the role our members play to control assets on behalf of investors will be emphasized in January 2015 with ASIC’s revised rules for custodians (RG133 Holding Assets). And then looking forward to 2016 the potential changes by the ASX to introduce T+2 settlement and new CHESS infrastructure,” Mr Braga concluded.

Published twice a year, the industry statistics give an insight into settlement transaction volumes and provide a league table of major custody, sub-custody and asset administers in Australia, reflecting asset shifts and major mandate wins and losses.

Major players hold their positions

NAB Asset Servicing remains the largest overall player in the custody market with $673 billion in total assets under custody for Australian investors (up 6.6% for the six months), followed by J.P. Morgan ($464 billion, up 10.5%), BNP Paribas ($312 billion, up 2.3%) and Citigroup ($257 billion, up 1.1%).

These four custodians collectively manage almost 70 per cent of assets under custody, with the remaining share of assets under custody held by State Street, Northern Trust, HSBC Bank, BNY Mellon, Bond Street, RBC Investor Services and Netwealth. J.P. Morgan remains the largest custodian of non-Australian assets for Australian investors ($232 billion, up 53.5%), followed by Citigroup ($107 billion, up 17.4%) and State Street ($106 billion, up 5.2%).

HSBC Bank retains its position as the major sub-custodian in Australia with $684 billion in sub-custody assets (up 10.3%), a figure that represents 66% of all Australian sub-custody assets.

Assets held under administration (not held in custody but administered by custodians) also increased 4.2%, with NAB Asset Servicing remaining the largest administrator in Australia with $447 billion in assets under administration.

Australian admin and custody sector continues to grow.

The Australian custodial and administration sector continues to grow strongly driven by rising equity markets, with the latest industry statistics released by the Australian Custodial Services Association (ACSA) revealing total assets under custody for Australian investors grew by 8.3% to $2.32 trillion in the six months to 31 December 2013.

The research from ACSA, the peak industry body for Australia’s custody and asset administration sector, shows growth of both Australian assets under custody (up 8.4%) and non-Australian assets under custody (up 7.4%). Australian assets under custody for foreign investors (sub-custody) grew by 3.8%.

In total, custodians in Australia are the safe keepers for $1.67 trillion of Australian assets and $647 million non-Australian assets for Australian investors. Custodians also hold $959 million of Australian assets for foreign investors (sub-custody).

Mr David Braga, Chair of ACSA, said the latest statistics demonstrate the financial sector’s stability and expects the custody sector to continue growing strongly in 2014.

“The latest industry statistics show steady growth in the custody and administration community, reflecting the health of Australia’s growing wealth management, superannuation and investment sector,” Mr Braga said. “The data demonstrates stability of the broader sector, and the expectations from the custody industry are that we will see similar levels of steady growth throughout the coming year,” he said.

Published twice a year, the industry statistics give an insight into settlement transaction volumes and provide a league table of major custody, sub-custody and asset administrators in Australia, recording major mandate wins and losses.

Major players hold their positions

Local custodian NAB Asset Servicing remains the largest overall player in the custody market with $632 billion in total assets under custody for Australian investors (up 11.4% for the six months), followed by J.P. Morgan ($420 billion, up 6.4%), BNP Paribas ($305 billion, down 2.6%) and Citigroup ($255 billion, up 19.4%).

They are followed by State Street, Northern Trust, HSBC Bank, BNY Mellon, Bond Street, RBC Investor Services, Ausmaq and Netwealth, who collectively manage 30% of assets under custody.

Total local assets held under custody increased by 6.7% over the past six months with NAB Asset Servicing, J.P. Morgan and BNP Paribas the leading holders of Australian assets under custody.

J.P. Morgan remains the largest custodian of non-Australian assets for Australian investors ($151 billion, up 10.5%), followed by State Street ($101 billion, up 15.5%) and NAB Asset Servicing ($92 billion, up 6.9%).

With an increase of 7.4% over the six month period, HSBC Bank consolidates its position as dominant sub-custodian in Australia with $620 billion in sub-custody assets, a figure that represents 64% of all Australian sub-custody assets.

Assets held under administration (not held in custody but administered by custodians) grew 6.2%. NAB Asset Servicing remains the largest administrator in Australia with $425 billion in assets under administration, followed by BNP Paribas ($381 billion) and State Street ($237 billion).

Click here for a full copy of the statistics.

ACSA announce 2014 award recipients.

The Australian Custodial Services Association (ACSA) has announced four winners of the 2014 ACSA Awards, recognising outstanding contribution to the Australian custody and investment administration industry.

The 2014 ACSA award winners are:

• Marian Azer, Head of Global Funds Services, Product for J.P. Morgan Investor Services Australia and New Zealand,
• Daniel Cheever, Vice President and Head of Superannuation of State Street Global Services,
• Darryll Rogers, Manager of Superannuation and Regulatory Change, NAB Asset Servicing, and
• Paul Talbot, Business Development Manager of OneVue Fund Services.

The winners of the industry achievement awards were announced on Wednesday night at the 2014 Investment Administration Conference, produced by Conexus Financial in association with ACSA.

The ACSA Awards recognise individuals who have made outstanding contributions and demonstrated a high level of professionalism, knowledge and commitment to Australia’s custody and investment administration industry.

ACSA Chair David Braga commended the achievements of the award recipients in the past year, and acknowledged the ongoing hard work of the ACSA Working Groups.

“ACSA’s achievements are reliant on the collective voluntary efforts of staff from its member organisations. For this, I would like to congratulate and thank Marian, Daniel, Darryll and Paul for their substantial contributions during 2013 to the custody industry,” Braga said

Darryll Rogers, Marian Azer and Daniel Cheever were recognised for their outstanding contribution in the Stronger Super Task Force which was formed to facilitate understanding of the government’s Stronger Super reforms across the custodial industry, co-ordinating dialogue between APRA, custodians and the superannuation industry.

Over the past year, the Stronger Super Task Force achieved an industry standard to investment classification in line with APRA’s guidelines to prevent misunderstandings from varying interpretations. The task force also made considerable progress in reaching a consensus around issues such as achieving adequate detailed investment information for fund look-throughs, and treatment of derivatives and currency overlays.

Paul Talbot was recognised for his significant role in the promoting the efficiencies of automated processing in the managed funds industry, a cause he has advocated in his role as Chairman of the Securities Market Practice Group since 2011. Mr Talbot’s ongoing efforts to highlight the reduced risks and costs through automation contributed to the increasing popularity of straight through processing in the Australian managed funds industry.

“Through the ongoing dedication and collective efforts of our members, ACSA will continue to contribute to innovation and efficiency in the investment administration industry, and provide international best-practice for members, clients and the financial services community at large,” Mr Braga concluded.

The Australian Custodial Services Association (ACSA) says the role of the custodian has broadened and is fundamental to supporting the continued growth in the superannuation, wealth management and investment sectors.

In his opening address at the 17th Annual Investment Administration Conference 2014 held in Sydney yesterday, ACSA Chair David Braga said the custodian’s role in facilitating Australia’s financial landscape was more important than ever as the sector continued to grow, fuelled by compulsory superannuation.

“Custody and investment administration is crucial to the overall health and wellbeing of the superannuation, wealth management and investment sector and is one of the fastest growing areas of Australia’s financial services community,” Mr Braga said.

While custodians remain the safekeepers of over $2 trillion of assets owned by Australian investors and almost $1 trillion of Australian assets for non-Australian investors, Mr Braga commented this was just a slice of the wide range of services provided today.

The role of custodians and investment administrators has grown over the past decade to include a range of middle-office services, including maintaining accounting records, tax reporting, compliance, performance monitoring, unit registry services and fund reporting.

ACSA, as the peak body representing the interests of the custodial and asset administration industry in Australia, used the annual Investment Administration Conference to unveil a revamped mission aimed at highlighting the importance for custodians to be heard in discussions across the financial sector.

“ACSA’s mission is to promote efficiency and international best practice through a united voice for the custody and investment administration industry in Australia,” Mr Braga said.

“Our core objectives remain largely unchanged and we will operate in the same way we have in the past. Custodians have a unique voice that needs to be heard in the debate across the financial sector. We are not proactively pushing policy direction, however we do have the best knowledge of the practical reality of running the large complex fund structures required to support Australians’ savings and investment aspirations.”

Mr Braga said 2013 was a busy year for ACSA members, highlighted by the Stronger Super Task Force and its ongoing work with APRA to ensure smooth implementation of MySuper reporting requirements.

Looking ahead to 2014, the ACSA Chair outlined several key initiatives the association will focus on, including:

Implementation of Stronger Super and RG133 reforms

• Launch of a new working group with a focus on the New Zealand custody and investment administration market
• Ongoing work with the ASX towards market automation, particularly for corporate actions
• Engagement with the ATO on a raft of taxation changes, including the Managed Investment Trust reform and electronic filing
• Continuing to work closely with regulatory bodies and other industry associations
• The theme for this year’s conference, produced by Conexus Financial in partnership with ACSA, is Efficiency in a Regulated World.

Mr Braga will succeed incumbent ACSA Chair Pierre Jond of BNP Paribas, who is returning to France to take up a new role within the French bank.

“On behalf of ACSA I would like to thank Pierre Jond for his involvement in the association and for his strong leadership as Chair,” Mr Braga said.

“Over the past two years, Pierre has broadened the role of ACSA as a representative body for custodians and strengthened our position within the broader financial services sector.”

Mr Braga has been an active participant in ACSA and has been a member of the Association’s executive committee since 2011. For the past year he has been executive sponsor of the Association’s regulatory & compliance working group and its Stronger Super Taskforce, representing the views of the custody industry to the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC), Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority (APRA) and policymakers in relation to the vast array of legislative change impacting custodians and their clients. Prior to this, Mr Braga was executive sponsor of ACSA’s communication working group.

“I am delighted to be elected as Chair of ACSA and it is an honour to take on this role. I look forward to representing the interests of the custody and investment administration industries and furthering our common goal: to ensure that Australia has an efficient, world-renowned financial market,” Mr Braga said.

“Custodians play an important role across the financial sector providing a strong foundation for superannuation funds and asset managers. As the voice of the custodian, ACSA will continue to work with industry partners during this period of unprecedented change to provide clear guidelines on what standards custodians will be held to as we plan for the future.”

Christine Bartlett, Executive General Manager, Asset Servicing at National Australia Bank has been elected ACSA Deputy Chair. She takes over from Paul Khoury of State Street who has stepped down from the role following two years as Deputy Chair and five years as an ACSA Executive.

Australia has a sophisticated and competitive custodian market with latest ACSA research showing total assets under custody for Australian investors grew by 6.7% to $2.16 trillion to 30 June 2013.

ACSA is the peak representative body for custodians and features seven working groups – with over 100 representatives of member organisations – working with government, regulators and other industry participants on issues related to custody and outsourcing.

Changes in regulation and market practice continue to place demands on custodians to ensure they provide effective solutions for clients – typically large superannuation funds, investment managers, as well as overseas investors and brokers.

Recent activity has included consultation with APRA on the implementation of MySuper; close negotiation with ASIC on the implications of RG 133; and working with the ASX on solutions to clearing and settlement processes.