Call for greater transparency in managing client money.

Saxo Capital Markets (Australia) Pty Ltd (Saxo) has called on all financial services firms managing client money to boost transparency, unveiling a market leading initiative that will see a review sent quarterly to all Saxo clients.

Saxo Capital Markets (Australia) Pty Ltd (Saxo) has called on all financial services firms managing client money to boost transparency, unveiling a market leading initiative that will see a review sent quarterly to all Saxo clients.

The review will provide a check between clients’ trading accounts and the segregated trust bank accounts to ensure the two balances can be reconciled and matched, providing total transparency of client money (TOCM).

The new initiative by the online trading and investment specialist aims to provide an extra layer of assurance to its clients of the presence of their funds.

Anthony Griffin, chief executive officer of Saxo Capital Markets (Australia) said investors were not always given a complete picture about the degree of protection of funds, directly affecting every investor.

“At Saxo, we are taking a proactive approach to client money by ensuring total transparency for anyone using our trading platform. We believe the level of oversight being provided should be industry practice for any entity that is an AFSL holder,” he said.

Saxo, a leader in technology, product diversity and access and now client money security, believes this initiative will allow its clients to invest with an additional level of comfort, knowing their funds can be reconciled to its financial statements and not being used for hedging or commercial operation purposes.

The move by Saxo is a more stringent adaptation of the ASIC Class Order (CO 02/294) from 2008 for businesses offering Investor Directed Portfolio Services (IDPS).

“Policies and procedures are not enough to demonstrate transparency, and we believe by going above and beyond what is required by Saxo from a regulatory perspective, we are demonstrating to the market that client money is not an afterthought for Saxo but core to our business as AFSL holders,” Mr Griffin said.

“By ensuring transparency and security, our clients can focus their energy on core activities of investing and trading. Despite this initiative adding an extra layer of compliance for our business, this is an area Saxo is proud to address proactively to benefit our clients,” he concluded.

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