Australian Custodial Services Association chairman David Brags notes the growing importance of custodians to the superannuation, wealth management and investment services sectors.

The role of the custodian is important to the growth of the superannuation, wealth management and investment sectors, according to the latest statement from the Australian Custodial Services Association.

In a speech at a conference in Sydney, ACSA chairman David Brags said that the custodian's role in the Australian financial industry is now more important than ever as the sector continues to grow, most of which is fuelled by compulsory superannuation. 

Custodians are the so-called safekeepers of over A$2 trillion (around $1.81 trillion) of assets owned by Australian investors and nearly A$1 trillion of Australian assets for non-Australian investors. Brags noted that their roles have expanded in the past decade to include a range of middle-office services, including maintaining accounting records, tax reporting, compliance, performance monitoring, unit registry services and fund reporting.

"Custodians have a unique voice that needs to be heard in the debate across the financial sector. We are not proactively pushing policy direction, however we do have the best knowledge of the practical reality of running the large complex fund structures required to support Australians’ savings and investment aspirations," said Brags.

The comments were made at the "Efficiency in a Regulated World" conference ACSA conducted in partnership with Conexus Financial in Sydney.