Share Custodian – Custody Of Clients Shares and Securities

How Can We Assist Our Clients Looking For A Share Custodian?

Share Custodians – Stock Custodians – Bond Custodians

We are closely linked with global share custodians and securities custodians for clients that are having difficulty locating a custodian that can take custody of their stocks and shares or bonds. Our stock custodians are located around the world and provide first-class global custody services. With our on-the-ground presence in key markets around the world and our robust custodian network that stretches across 96 markets, you’ll have direct access to the extensive experience and deep market insights of our international and local experts. We support sovereign wealth managers, asset managers, pension funds and insurance companies around the world to help custody of their clients securities.

What Is A Share Custodian

A  share custodian is a financial institution that is responsible for the safekeeping of assets, including stocks and shares and also includes bonds. They are often known simply as ‘custodians.’

Keeping someone’s stocks, shares and bonds safe may sound straightforward but it comes with a whole host of responsibilities.

Custodians will usually be responsible for handling all the bureaucracy that comes with buying and selling stocks. That includes any tax issues, dividend payments or foreign exchange transactions that need to be carried out.

It’s worth noting that a custodian is largely concerned with the mechanics of investing.

A custodian is a specialized financial institution (typically, a regulated entity with granted authority like a bank) that holds customers’ securities for safekeeping in order to minimize the risk of their misappropriation, misuse, theft, and/or loss.

A custodian has three primary responsibilities:

1. Safekeeping of Assets: maintaining proper indicia of ownership, valuation, accounting, and reporting of assets owned by a plan/fund sponsor or an institutional investor
2. Trade Processing: tracking, settling, and reconciling assets that are acquired and disposed of by the investor—either directly or indirectly—through delegated authority with an asset manager
3. Asset Servicing: maintaining all economic benefits of ownership such as income collection, corporate actions, and proxy issues

What Duties Does The Custodian Perform

• Hold in safekeeping assets/securities such as stocks, bonds, commodities such as precious metals and currency (cash), domestic and foreign
• Arrange settlement of any purchases and sales and deliveries in/out of such securities and currency
• Collect information on and income from such assets (dividends in the case of stocks/equities and coupons (interest payments) in the case of bonds) and administer related tax withholding documents and foreign tax reclamation
• Administer voluntary and involuntary corporate actions on securities held such as stock dividends, stock splits, business combinations (mergers), tender offers, bond calls, etc.
• Provide information on the securities and their issuers such as annual general meetings and related proxies
• Maintain currency/cash bank accounts, effect deposits, and withdrawals and manage other cash transactions
• Perform foreign exchange transactions
• Often perform additional services for particular clients such as mutual funds; examples include fund accounting, administration, legal, compliance, and tax support services.”

Our solutions

We deliver secure yet flexible services to efficiently manage all securities-related activities, from full middle and back office outsourcing to straight through global execution-to-settlement solutions. Our clients can rely on timely and accurate updates on worldwide market practices thanks to our rigorous monitoring.

Execution

Our open platform global execution offering allows our clients to trade all electronic securities across over 90 markets worldwide. They simply execute trades through one of our execution-to-custody partners and leave the rest to us.

Clearing

Through our global clearing and settlement service we connect clients’ trading activities to post-trade market infrastructures either through a single global window or a multi-direct set-up. Our consolidated global set-up supports clearing, settlement and custody in over 90 markets and Multilateral Trading Facilities (MTFs).

Settlement

Rarely considered an exciting part of our industry, trade settlement needs to work, efficiently and cost-effectively. Whatever the size or the number of countries our clients operate in, we design solutions that meet their requirements – whether they only need market connectivity or a fully outsourced solution. Our augmented custody program delivers better ways to operate, and settlement is no exception thanks to the best cut-off times, more options for reporting and simpler ways to integrate with our clients’ systems for onward client reporting.