Assets under custody in Australia remain stable through continued market volatility

Assets under custody in Australia remain stable through continued market volatility

Data released today by the Australian Custodial Services Association (ACSA), the peak industry body for custodians and asset service providers in Australia, has revealed assets under custody at $4.3 trillion for the six months ended 31 December 2022, up 0.6% from the prior period. 

The slight increase in total assets under custody for the six-month period came despite the difficult and volatile markets that continued throughout the period.

According to the ACSA data, asset servicing providers in Australia settled 12.3 million trades in the six months to 30 December 2022, 3.6% fewer than in the previous six months. ACSA members, on average, settled approximately 94,500 trades per day on behalf of clients.

ACSA reported that assets held on behalf of Australian investors in Australia declined by 0.5%, while offshore assets held increased by 3.0%. Assets held in Australia on behalf of offshore investors increased by 3.3% to $1.8 trillion. Total assets under administration increased by 3.2% to $5.1 trillion.

ACSA CEO David Travers said continued local and global market volatility and shifting economic conditions remained a challenge.

“Member organisations continue to see the industry consolidation impacting the relative movements of ACSA member data in the December report,” Mr Travers said.

“Looking ahead, ACSA members will continue to focus on their response and feedback to changing regulatory requirements, their evolving role in supporting institutional involvement in digital assets, including cryptocurrencies, and the future direction of the ASX’s CHESS replacement project.

“Innovation, digital asset evolution and standards remain critical to 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, which draw on the extensive expertise of member custodians,” he said.

A full copy of the ACSA data for the December half of 2022 can be found here.

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Kate Skokan
Sefiani Communications Group
0436 637 882
kskokan@sefiani.com.au