The steady growth seen within the Australian investment fund industry is underpinned by the requirement to make 9.5 per cent compulsory salary contributions to the superannuation industry. Ausmaq customers can look forward to benefitting from additional product reach with direct access to international funds and to alternative funds.
Clearstream, the post-trade services provider, wholly-owned by Deutsche Börse Group, has acquired Sydney-based specialist managed funds services business Ausmaq Limited from National Australia Bank in order to further expand its offering in the investment funds space and enter the Australian market.
Ausmaq administers managed funds and term deposits for leading wrap platform providers and wealth managers in Australia. At present, over 1,400 managed funds are available on the Ausmaq platform, which processes approximately 350,000 managed fund transactions annually.
The transaction, which is expected to be completed in the second half of 2019 after being subject to regulatory approval, is a milestone for the company as it checks one of the key pillars of its strategy: external growth with a focus on selected areas, such as investment funds.
The managed funds administrator Ausmaq will become a 100 per cent subsidiary of Clearstream. Currently, Ausmaq is a wholly-owned subsidiary of NAB.
The deal will allow Clearstream to enter the 2 trillion-euro Australian market, which ranks number one among the fund markets in Asia-Pacific and number four globally with regards to assets under management (AuM).
Bernard Tancré, Head of Investment Funds Services at Clearstream, said:
“Ausmaq is a perfect fit for Clearstream’s strategy in the Asia-Pacific region. As an established provider of fund processing solutions, the acquisition allows us to broaden our fund service offering in Australia and to provide our international customers with integrated solutions for the domestic market.”
Ravi Subramaniam, Chief Executive Officer of Ausmaq, said:
“Today’s announcement is the beginning of an exciting new chapter for Ausmaq. We’re thrilled to be joining an organisation of Clearstream’s calibre – a recognised global leader in post-trade services. Our clients can expect to receive the same exemplary service that they’ve become accustomed to over the years, with increases in the service offering to be introduced over time.”
Clearstream will now aim to provide the same infrastructure service that it provides internationally to its clients and to handle the link from the Australian funds market back to the global markets. The company will expand on the service offering currently available to Ausmaq customers to also provide Australian custodian banks, wrap platforms and wealth managers with access to its fully-automated global funds processing platform Vestima.
