In this Issue

• Introduction
• Season’s greeting from the Chair
• 2023 ACSA Awards
• ACSA Whitepaper – From vulnerability to resiliency: Insights on cyber, data, and information security in a time of uncertainty
• 2023 ACSA Statistics
• In Focus – Mubin Rahimi
• 2023 A Year in review
  

Introduction

Welcome to the holiday season edition of the ACSA Industry Wrap. In this month’s edition we review 2023 with messages from Sally Surgeon, ACSA Chair and David Travers, ACSA CEO.

We provide highlights from ACSA’s first thought leadership whitepaper report - From vulnerability to resiliency: Insights on cyber, data, and information security in a time of uncertainty.

As we reflect on ACSA’s achievements during 2023, now is a great opportunity to recognise industry colleagues through the annual ACSA Awards, so please take the time to submit nominations.

A reminder that we will be reaching out to collect the ACSA Statistics for 31 Dec which are an important measure for our industry.

Our final In Focus for 2023 is with Mubin Rahimi from NAB. Mubin recently replaced David Knights as the NAB representative on the ACSA Board.

We hope you enjoy the read!

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Season’s greetings from the Chair

We arrive at the 2023 holiday season after another active year, a year where the ASX re-focused its CHESS Replacement project, regulators maintained a positive agenda for regulatory change and we continued to work collaboratively across the industry to deliver value to our people and clients.

My third year as ACSA chair has delivered further accomplishments for ACSA as the executive has been able to work successfully to give effect to ACSA’s strategy and extend our industry connections with new members and our focus on the developing the next generation through the establishment of a dedicated working group – Next Generation Leaders.

My thanks go to the executive directors and David Travers, CEO of ACSA, the working group chairs and working group members for your commitment and drive to ensure the industry continues to manage through change and take regulatory initiatives head on for the benefit of our member houses, our clients, and our people. The efforts of so many on a volunteer basis is appreciated and makes a huge difference in our ability to get things done and give back to the industry.

A special call out to David Knights and Daryl Crich who both recently stepped down from the board and have been tireless contributors to ACSA over many years. You will be missed, and I thank you both for your leadership of ACSA during periods of significant change for our industry. I also welcome both Mubin Rahimi and Philippe Kerdoncuff to the board and look forward to working closely with you and the board to deliver on ACSA’s vision and strategy.

Wishing you all the best for the holiday season and hope that you can take some time out to enjoy the break with family and friends. I look forward to continuing to work with you in 2024 on what is expected to be another year of opportunity for us to deliver on the ACSA mission.

Thank you again and best wishes,

 Sally

“Our mission is to promote efficiency and international best practice for members, our clients and the market through a united voice for the custody and investment administration industry in Australia.”

2023 ACSA Awards

Nominations are now open for ACSA Awards 2023

The ACSA Awards recognise outstanding individual contribution to the Association, wider industry and key stakeholders. For over 10 years these coveted Awards have showcased outstanding individuals and the value they bring to industry collaboration and focus on positive change.

Eligibility

Any person who makes a significant contribution to the industry and Association is eligible.

Nomination Process

Nominations should be made by completing the Nomination Form and return no later than 30 January 2024 via email to:

Kate Dent
ACSA Executive
admin@acsa.com.au

Nominations must include details of the individual’s specific contribution (see instructions regarding the citation).
Full details of the process and the Roll of Honour of past recipients can be viewed here.

Award Presentation
Recipients will be notified in February, and the Awards will be presented at ACSA’s first members event for 2024 in March which will be held concurrently in Sydney and Melbourne.

ACSA Whitepaper – From vulnerability to resiliency: Insights on cyber, data, and information security in a time of uncertainty

ACSA is proud to announce the release of its first whitepaper report, 'From vulnerability to resiliency: Insights on cyber, data, and information security in a time of uncertainty.' The report analyses the escalating cybersecurity risks confronting the Superannuation and investment industries.

The report calls out Superannuation and Investment companies to move quickly to address vulnerabilities in their cyber defences as the incidence and cost of cyber-attacks mount.

With ransomware events imposing an estimated annual cost of $2.59 billion on Australia's economy, the whitepaper urges the nation’s largest financial services providers to accelerate implementation of robust cybersecurity measures to protect core systems and data.

The report identifies critical risks based on recommendations from ACSA's Cyber Roundtable and risk management and cybersecurity leaders from major Australian financial institutions and globally systemically important banks (G-SIBs). It establishes best practices for Superannuation and Investment companies, unveiling the strategies employed by resilient firms and featuring insights from ACSA members including State Street, Citigroup, Clearstream, J.P. Morgan, Northern Trust, HSBC, and NAB Asset Servicing.

As AI rapidly reshapes the cyber landscape, offering improved threat detection while also empowering cyber criminals with more sophisticated breach tools, the report argues leaders should adopt a multifaceted approach to combat cyber threats.

The full whitepaper report can be found here.

2023 ACSA Statistics

It’s nearly time to collaborate on our industry’s statistics as at 31st Dec 2023.

The statistics are important to our Association in helping to describe to stakeholders the metrics of our industry and thereby position our advocacy efforts.

ACSA takes an active role in providing up to date information, commentary and research about the developments and evolution of the custody and investment services industry.

ACSA's members manage trillions of dollars in assets under custody (AUC) on behalf of their clients. On a half yearly basis, ACSA compiles and publishes key statistics and transaction data submitted by members to provide insight into:

• Australian Investor Assets Under Custody, includes Australian and Non-Australian Assets
• Australian Assets Under Custody for Foreign Clients (Sub-Custody)
• Assets Under Administration
• Transaction Volumes

See past stats here.

In Focus – Mubin Rahimi

Mubin is the Head of Client Enablement for NAB Asset Servicing in Australia. With over 18 years of experience in financial services, he joined NAB in 2006 and has held various leadership roles, including Strategy, Fund Accounting, Investment Analytics, and Program Management. In his current position, Mubin focuses on developing and executing business strategies to enhance the client experience.

Mubin earned his Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Melbourne and completed his MBA at Melbourne Business School in 2016. Outside of his professional life, he finds joy in spending time with his three children.

Quick fire five
Coffee or Tea? Coffee
Tik Tock, Instagram or Facebook? Instagram
Pop, Rock or Rap? Pop
Cocktail or Wine? Wine
Summer or Winter? Definitely Summer (Melbournian)

Can you briefly describe your role and responsibilities?
My current role has evolved from being responsible for client solutions and program delivery of key initiatives to now running the business wind down of NAB Asset Servicing. In my current capacity, I am responsible for the progressive offboarding of customers and business closure activities.

What is the most satisfying part of your role?
The most satisfying part of my current role is working with colleagues to navigate their next career moves post the closure of NAB Asset Servicing. Working with passionate and talented people to find their next roles is extremely rewarding.

How do you motivate yourself and your team?
Setting improvement goals that are a stretch but achievable. In my experience, having an objective to strive for is critical to staying motivated at work. I push myself and my team slightly outside our comfort zones which might seem daunting but with the right support, it’s a real motivator and development opportunity.

What are some of the exciting places your career has taken you?
The highlight was an opportunity to travel to South Africa for a vendor due diligence. Best work trip I have ever had.

What advice would you give your 21-year-old self?
Take risks in your career and work as hard as you can, it will be rewarded.

What’s excites you about the future of our Industry? (Include role of ACSA)
It’s the up and coming talent. I have been fortunate to have a great career in the custody industry and seeing so many motivated young professionals eager to make their mark in the industry excites me. I look forward to helping those who want to further their careers through my experience.

2023 - a year in review

ACSA maintained its priorities in 2023 in line with its mission to focus on efficiency and best practices across the custody and investment administration industry to support members and their clients.

ACSA re-focused and formalised taskforces as working groups to recognise the ongoing importance and relevance of digital assets and data to the ACSA priorities and industry focus. We also re-invigorated our focus on regulatory compliance and separated the implementation of regulatory change as separate working groups. The ACSA working groups also maintained focus on traditional industry challenges and our newest working group, ACSA Next Generation Leaders, built a solid foundation of working group members and is developing a strong agenda.

After 9 years and 10 years respectively, David Knights and Darryl Crich have ended their time with ACSA. I thank them for their outstanding contributions to ACSA and the industry and look forward to working closely with Mubin Rahimi and Philippe Kerdoncuff on ACSA future priorities.

Interest from market participants in the contributions of ACSA continued this year and we saw Perpetual and PwC re-join as Associate Members, welcome back.

ACSA continued to maintain its focus on market advocacy for members and clients across working groups with 6 government consultations and submissions including contributions on digital assets and platforms, competition in settlements, AML/CTF, Autonomous Sanctions, operational risk, industry data requirements, market and various tax requirements.

ACSA’s Thought Leadership Series of Webinars was successful in bringing new industry insights to members with our partners. The partners for our 7 webinars included: SWIFT, Citibank, DTCC, ASX, Konu consulting, Calastone, Ashurst, NAB and SS&C technologies.

ACSA also issued its first whitepaper report - From vulnerability to resiliency: Insights on cyber, data, and information security in a time of uncertainty. A prelude to ACSA’s evolving industry thought leadership priorities.

ACSA has engaged regularly with the ASX on several matters including the CHESS Replacement Project and are pleased that the ASX has now finalised its approach to CHESS replacement and recently announced its partnership with TCS to deliver the new solution. ACSA and its members will continue to actively engage with the ASX and supports the need for the current CHESS environment to be supported and maintained to deliver stability and resilience to the market.

Finally, in 2023 we were InFocus with several of our members and industry leaders and our future leaders, including: Kate Dent (ACSA admin), Chris Moore (Citi), Doug McMeekin (NAB), Daniel De Stefano (State Street), Allyson Bradnam (NAB), Ben Sung (Clearstream), Tina Rathjen, (JPM), Clare Belsten (State Street), Aakanksha Bose (JPM).

Thank you to all working group members, the ACSA executive board and Kate Dent for your efforts and support in 2023.

David
CEO, ACSA