The Australian Custodial Services Association is calling for nominations for its annual awards, which recognise outstanding contributors to the Australian custody and investment administration sectors of the industry.
Robert Brown, ACSA executive member, said the awards paid tribute to key individuals who had been instrumental in driving industry reform and efficiency.
He said: “The past 18 months have been a testing time for the financial services sector and the custodial sector is no exception. There is intense competition for products and services, especially institutional custody and administration. In this context it is fantastic that our experts give up time to work on issues that drive overall market efficiency and benefit clients.
The awards recognise those individuals who have stepped forward and contributed on a consistent basis.”
ACSA is also looking to further the professionalism in the industry with the launch this year of a specialist educational course: Certificate (IV) for Financial Services (Custody), which will be augmented next year by the Diploma of Financial Services (Custody).
Major items on ACSA’s agenda this year have been engagement with government and regulators on the range of industry reviews, including superannuation and taxation.
Apart from traditional custody services such as safekeeping of assets and settlement of trades, ACSA members increasingly provide a range of portfolio administration services such as valuation, tax reporting and performance measurement as well as foreign exchange and securities lending.
The ACSA Awards are intended to:
- recognise individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to the industry, ACSA clients and the Association itself;
- encourage greater participation from individuals and firms in industry-based initiatives;
- better promote the role of the industry;
- and highlight the level of professionalism within the ACSA community.
Last year’s winners were Joanne O’Callaghan, chief legal counsel at State Street; Sandra Powell, senior manager product development, HSBC; and Paul Toepfer, head of fund operations at State Street.
To download a PDF of the application form, go to: www.custodial.org.au
