The Australian custodial and administration sector grew by 1.4% in the first half of 2016, with total assets under custody (AUC) for Australian investors at $2.9 trillion, according to the latest industry statistics released by the Australian Custodial Services Association (ACSA).
JP Morgan emerged as the largest overall provider in the custody market followed by NAB, BNP Paribas, Citigroup and Northern Trust.
The ACSA statistics reveal that while the sector is witnessing overall positive growth, the drivers have changed, with custody of on-shore assets outpacing that for off-shore.
In particular, it found in the six months to 30 June 2016, total AUC for Australian investors grew to $2.95 trillion; representing circa 183% of the capitalised value of All Ordinaries and indicating the growing need for alternative asset allocation and foreign markets.
Of this amount, $2.05 trillion represents Australian assets; a 3.1% increase from last period. The remaining $903 billion in foreign assets represented a decrease of 2.4%; Despite the fall, off-shore investment still constitutes 30.6% of the total AUC for Australian investors. The level of Australian AUC for foreign clients (sub-custody) grew by 3.4% to $1.2 trillion.