Assets under custody and held by custodian companies in Australia decreased only marginally last year, according to data collected by the Australian Custodial Services Association (ACSA).
The data, released to a conference in Sydney this week, found assets under custody had decreased by 2.68 per cent but there appeared to be little change in the competitive structure of the market, with National Custodian Services remaining the largest player with $527 billion in total assets under custody, followed by JP Morgan with $252 billion, BNP Paribas with $195.9 billion and State Street with $150.7 billion.
However, the data also showed that while local investors had maintained their Australian assets, their offshore assets had declined by 16 per cent, indicating that they may have sold down their foreign assets and reinvested in the Australian market.
The ACSA data also revealed that Australian assets under custody for foreign investors were down 21 per cent over the six months to June last year.
It said that, while partly market related, this shift also indicated a move by foreign investors to repatriate assets back home.
The ACSA data also revealed that assets under administration fell by 12 per cent over the six-month period, reflecting a growing sector given the dramatic drop in asset prices during the period.
