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Australian Custody Group Focuses on Unit Trust Processing

Posted: 15 Feb 2012

The Australian Custodial Services Association (ACSA) will work with industry participants to improve the efficiency of processing unit trusts, says Chair Pierre Jond.

“How we are processing unit trusts is a big topic for us,” Jond says. “We feel there should be more efficiency in this particular field, and we can do better around communication with the administrators. There is a lot of interaction and data exchange between the custodians and the administrators. There are a number of areas and solutions that are being developed and proposed to market participants, and this is an area where we believe that the market should be more efficient.”

Jond points to the US and Europe, noting their high levels of automation around processing unit trusts.

“Their markets are efficient and highly automated,” he says. “This is clearly a source of potential improvement in Australia, and the custodians have a role to play. The way we are progressing is for ACSA's working groups to engage with the various participants and develop a common position to drive through change and implement/sponsor the potential efficiencies.”

Jond also points to continued work with regulators about the impacts of FATCA as a priority. Jond previously told Global Custodian that ACSA’s tax working group wrote a position paper for regulators, and the body is sharing information with the membership on FATCA’s implications. A panel at ACSA’s upcoming conference will focus on FATCA.

“We need to make sure that our regulators in Australia are fully cognizant of the impact this will have on the fund management business and on the custodians,” he says. “On FATCA, we have a panel on the topic, so the conference will link back to these focus points.”

(RA)

If you have any comments about this story or news tips, contact Christopher Gohlke in New York at cgohlke@globalcustodian.com or Janet Du Chenne in London at jduchenne@globalcustodian.com.