In this Issue

• Market update – RBA review of ASX Clearing and Settlement, ASX CHESS Release 2 Testing Approach
• Regulatory Update – ASIC exemptions for Stablecoin distributors
• Members Update – ACSA Members Event – Celebrating 30 Years, ACSA Thought Leadership Program.
• Global Perspective – Empowering Digital Distribution: Tokenised Funds
• Upcoming Events
• Industry Insights
• In Focus – David Knights (Former ACSA Chair) and Andrew Sexton (Northern Trust)
  

Introduction

Welcome to the September 2025 edition of the ACSA Industry Wrap. This month, we’re looking ahead to a major milestone – the ACSA Members Event in October, where we’ll be celebrating 30 years of supporting and shaping the industry. We hope to see you there.
In this edition:

• We bring you the latest on the RBA ASX Review and ASX’s Chess Release 2 testing approach.
• Explore global insights on Empowering Digital Distribution.
• Catch up on highlights from our ACSA Thought Leadership Series.
  

This month we are In Focus with David Knights, ACSA Chair and long-time advocate of the industryand Andrew Sexton from Northern Trust.

Market Update

Assessment of ASX Clearing and Settlement Facilities – September 2025

The Reserve Bank of Australia has released the 2025 Assessment of the ASX Clearing and Settlement (CS) Facilities. This assesses the performance of the ASX CS Facilities against the Bank’s Financial Stability Standards (Standards).

ASX has considerable work to do to meet the Bank’s expectations for an operator of critical market infrastructure. Recent shortcomings in risk management – particularly the December 2024 CHESS batch settlement incident – have highlighted that ASX must make foundational changes to its governance, culture and risk management processes. ASX must also accelerate its uplift of operational and financial risk management, while meeting key milestones for its major technology projects. Delivering on these initiatives will require appropriate resourcing and the RBA will be closely monitoring progress over the coming year.

RBA Assistant Governor (Financial System) Brad Jones said: ‘ASX is not currently meeting the regulators’ expectations for an operator of critical national infrastructure. Resilient and secure CS facilities are crucial to the stability of the Australian financial system.

More information can be found here.

ASX CHESS Release 2 Industry Test Approach

The ASX CHESS Release 2 Industry Test Approach is now available.

The purpose of the Industry Test Approach is to inform the market of the approach ASX will be taking to facilitate industry testing for Release 2 of the CHESS Project.

The Approach document summarises the test phases, activities planned, expected outcomes and schedule for Release 2 industry testing, and is intended to inform the industry’s own change programs to achieve a Q2 2029 go-live. Additionally, the Approach provides the schedule for when detailed information relating to each Release 2 industry testing phase is planned to be made available.

The details are available through an ASX Online subscription and can be accessed here.

Join the discussion.

If you’re interested in joining in ACSA’s discussions and response to market initiatives and industry consultations, please connect to us at admin@acsa.com.au.

Regulatory Update

ASIC exemptions for secondary distribution of stablecoins

ASIC has announced an important step in facilitating growth and innovation in the digital assets and payments sectors.

ASIC has granted class relief for intermediaries engaging in the secondary distribution of a stablecoin issued by an Australian financial services (AFS) licensed issuer. As and when more issuers of eligible stablecoins obtain an AFS licence, ASIC will consider extending the above relief to intermediaries distributing those stablecoins.

ASIC is committed to supporting responsible innovation in the rapidly evolving digital assets space, while ensuring important consumer protections are in place by having eligible stablecoins issued under an AFS licence.

More information can be found here.


Join the discussion.                      

If you’re interested in joining in ACSA’s discussions and response to market initiatives and industry consultations, please connect to us at admin@acsa.com.au.

Members Update

ACSA Members Event 🎉 Celebrate 30 Years of ACSA with Us – 23 October 2025! 🎉

We are excited to invite you to a truly special Member Event in October – the 30th Anniversary Celebration of the Australian Custodial Services Association (ACSA)! Join us as we celebrate three decades of supporting and advancing the custody industry with an event filled with reflection, recognition, and celebration of the past and the future.

Event Details:
Date: Thursday, 23 October 2025
Venue:
MELBOURNE: Northern Trust, Level 12, 120 Collins Street Melbourne
SYDNEY: BNP Paribas, Level 6, 60 Castlereagh St, Sydney
Registration from 15:30
Event: 16:00-17:30
Refreshments: 17:30 – 18:30

As a valued member of our industry and a key contributor’s to ACSA’s success, we want to celebrate with you. You have helped shape the custody industry, and to show our appreciation, we also have a special gift just for you!
Spaces are limited, so don’t miss out on this incredible opportunity to connect, reflect, and celebrate with your industry peers.

Follow the link here to register.

ACSA Thought Leadership Program

The ACSA Thought Leadership Program has the following exciting events.

17 October 2025
“The Evolution of Transfer Agency (Unit Registry)”
In this webinar SS&C will share insights from their latest white paper, on the Evolution of Transfer Agency (Unit Registry).
You can register for this webinar here.
Keep an eye out for registration links in email and through LinkedIn.
If you have any suggestions for topics please email admins@acsa.com.au .

Join the discussion. 

If you’re interested in joining in ACSA’s member engagement initiatives and industry consultation, please connect to us at admin@acsa.com.au.

Global Perspective

Empowering Digital Distribution: The Strategic Rise of Tokenised Funds

A new era of fund distribution is emerging. Asset managers are racing to tokenise money market and private asset funds, while DeFi platforms are eager to adopt these products to manage billions in treasuries and attract new investors. For the first time, two financial worlds that have long operated apart - traditional asset management and decentralised finance - are converging at scale.

To understand this transformation, Calastone, in partnership with ValueExchange, surveyed global asset managers and DeFi platforms. The findings reveal a projected $235bn opportunity by 2029, highlighting why tokenised distribution is becoming the industry’s gateway into digital assets.

An interesting read and helpful in understanding the future of tokenised funds

Read more here.

Key Events

• 17 October 2025 - ACSA Thought Leadership Program - The Evolution of Transfer Agency (Unit Registry)
• 23 October 2025 - ACSA Member Event – Celebrating 30 years of industry support

Insights and Updates

• August 2025- ACSA submission on Corporate Actions Functionality in CHESS Replacement
• August 2025 - ACSA Submission on AML/CTF Transition Rules
• August 2025 - ACSA CPS230 Scenario Testing Guidance
• September 2025 - ACSA -AML/CTF Transitional Rules

In Focus – David Knights on the history of ACSA

I entered the Custody industry in 2013, after a decade of experience across retail and business banking in various roles in Nab. I was attracted to the Custody industry as it is a growing sector of financial services, supporting the Australian (and global) superannuation system which only commenced in 1992. Nab offered the opportunity to work in an end to end business, working closely with institutional clients to grow the retirement savings of Australia.

My first position was managing the investment administration team for Nab Asset Servicing (NAS), with over 250 investment professionals. I then moved into strategic and transformational roles, taking on additional responsibilities of product management, transitions and sales before being appointed the Executive for NAS in 2023. NAS offered me a tremendous breadth of different opportunities to continuously learn and build enduring relationships with colleagues and clients.

Quick fire

In 3 words describe:
The custody industry - Critical, enabling, safeguarding.
ACSA – Collaboration, connection, advocacy.
The Future of Custody – Assets, data, insight.


ACSA has is celebrating 30 Years supporting the Australian Custody and Investment Services Industry:

What was your involvement with ASCA?

Chair of ACSA 2015 to 2021, director to 2023.

Why did you get involved and what were the key achievements for ACSA and the industry through this period?

I was curious to learn more about the industry (and custody) being fresh into the industry, and became the nominated director for Nab on the ACSA board… and about two months after I became the chair!

ACSA is a fantastic organisation to be involved with and relies on like-minded individuals that are prepared to contribute their time and skills to develop the industry, solve collective challenges and provide a unified industry voice in the shaping of regulatory and tax reforms on the industry.

ACSA achieved many things during my period on the board, installing the inaugural CEO, Mr Rob Brown, implementing the stronger super reforms, ASIC portfolio holdings disclosure, AMIT reforms, CCIVs….the list goes on. We are at our best in a crisis, and ACSA played a pivotal role in the Covid pandemic, ensuring clear communication and priorities across the industry and with government regulators to help provide business continuity for the industry. The teamwork across the industry was exemplary and is testimony to the high calibre of individuals involved with ACSA.

How important is it for ACSA members to have a forum to share ideas and challenges in a non-competitive manner?

Critical – it is industry collaboration, and the different perspectives from the many different players in the industry that help develop the unified solutions to challenges and opportunities. It also provides the opportunities for people to build their own networks to navigate their career and the industry.

What are your thoughts on the future of the custody and investment services industry?

Custody and investment services are a critical enabler to a growing, increasingly complex global investment industry. Whilst not widely known by the end investor, the custody industry is integral to providing confidence and safety to the end investors and will continue to play this key role, as we adapt to a more diverse range of asset classes, increasing digitisation, transaction speeds and enabling technologies.


What advice would you give someone thinking about getting involved in ACSA or one of ACSA’s working groups?

Don’t get involved just to put it on your CV, get involved because you want to contribute to the industry, learn from others and build your networks. Respect the competition laws and be prepared to have a crack to help progress the industry & make a difference. We can’t have just one person on the shovel, with 10 people watching…

Any other thoughts on ACSA?

What you will get out of your involvement with ACSA will be proportionate to what you put in and contribute. Have the confidence to listen, learn, speak up and contribute respectfully to the debate and shaping of industry reforms. In return, ACSA provides the opportunity to build enduring networks and friendships across the industry that you will have for life!!

In Focus – Andrew Sexton, Northern Trust

Andrew Sexton is the Outsourcing Framework Manager at Northern Trust based in Melbourne and has been there for nearly 10 years. He is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants and holds a double degree in Bachelor Accounting and Bachelor Banking and Finance.

Prior to his current role at Northern Trust he worked in the Corporate Finance team with roles as a Senior Accountant and Management Reporting Manager as well as the client implementation team as the Financial Reporting and Tax SME.

Andrew began his career as an auditor at DFK International and KPMG and worked within the retail and financial services sectors and gained overseas experience in New York.

Andrew is known for his driven personality, collaborative nature, proactive risk management and advanced excel skills whilst building strong relationships.

Quick fire five
Coffee or Tea? Coffee – everything coffee whether its as a drink or simply as a flavour
Tik Tock, Instagram or Facebook? Not a big social media fan but Facebook is the only account I have.
Pop, Rock or Rap? Pop but anything with a beat that gets adrenaline going.
Cocktail or Wine? Big red wine fan
Summer or Winter? Summer as I love the outdoors


First of all congratulations on a very successful career, what have been your career highlights and what are you most proud of when you look back on your career?

Working in New York is a career highlight. Not only was I able to travel and see parts of the world but I was able to broaden my skillset in working with the US GAAP and NASDAQ clients. In addition, in my penultimate university year I was able to secure an internship experience working at Rio Tinto which had a crazy financial environment on the mines. In my career looking back I am most proud of ensuring that in my foundational career years I diversified and built a broad range of skills that is adaptable to an ever changing regulatory and technology landscape.

How did you first begin working in financial services/asset servicing?

I first started working in the financial services industry as an audit manager at KPMG. I ran external audits and got to understand the industry and the complexities it often faced.

What was your first role in financial services and how did you end up in your current role?

Through a KPMG and Northern Trust relationship I moved into a Senior Accountant role at Northern Trust as my first financial services role. My current role came about when I moved internally to enhance an Outsourcing Framework to ensure oversight was performed to APRA’s expectations for the assets servicing operations, third party vendors and related entities. Following this today I am leading the CPS230 Service Provider Management implementation.

You’ve been involved with ACSA for a while now, tell us about that experience and the value ACSA brings to the industry.

Working in ACSA has been an experience which has further helped develop my understanding of the Custody industry. It has enabled me to comprehend that the way Custodians can do things can be very different but also can be collectively right. It brings value as it provides a connection for all members in the industry to provide insights and ideas to help everyone that operates within it. Everyone in the industry is seeking efficiency and ACSA helps facilitate it.

What advice would you give to the younger professionals the industry?

Three things, firstly be a sponge by cultivating curiosity through learning from experienced team members within and beyond your team. Secondly, be persistent in your efforts and embrace diverse experiences to build a broad understanding of the industry. Focus on gaining valuable experience and building your network to create opportunities. Thirdly, I was once given really helpful advice that I have always followed that when someone gives you a task to complete always give it your best go rather than seeking help if unsure. Often how to do something isn’t always overt for anyone and by simply trying to do something you can create the nucleus and be the pioneer.