Custodians benefit from strong investment markets

Custodians reported solid growth in assets during the December half last year, consolidating the industry's strong performance in the June half.

Figures released by the Australian Custodial Services Association show that total assets under custody rose by five per cent to A$2.6 trillion over the six months to December.

In the June half last year total assets under custody grew by 6.3 per cent.

The bulk of those assets ($1.8 trillion) were Australian assets, with foreign assets worth $790 billion.

NAB Asset Servicing remains the biggest player in the market, with $692 billion. However NAB's growth over the six months, at 2.8 per cent, was modest.

NAB Asset Servicing announced yesterday that it had been reappointed to provide custody for the $1.6 billion superannuation fund AMIST.

The number two player in the market, JP Morgan, grew its assets under custody by 3.2 per cent to $478.5 billion and the number three player, BNP Paribas, grew its assets by 4.5 per cent to $325.9 billion.

Among the other industry participants, Citigroup's assets under custody were up 5.2 per cent to $271 billion, State Street's assets fell 0.5 per cent to $211.7 billion, Northern Trust's assets rise by 18.5 per cent to $198 billion and HSBC's assets rose by 7.9 per cent to $154 billion.

Australian assets held for foreign clients grew seven per cent to $1.1 trillion. HSBC is the big player in this segment, with $727 billion of assets under custody.

Non-Australian assets held for Australian clients grew by 7.5 per cent to $736.5 billion. JP Morgan is the leader in this segment, with $243.3 billion of assets under custody.