By Anna Peel. Originally published at ValueWalk.
Amid Significant Challenges, Opportunities for Performance Turnaround Grow
June 1, 2022 | Stamford, CT — Rising interest rates, automation and the emergence of new revenue streams are reenergizing the bottom lines of security servicers who in recent years have experienced flat-lined growth, margin compression and growing competition from non-bank providers.
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The securities services industry plays a vital role in the smooth functioning of the capital markets industry. Mutual funds, ETFs and others rely on these providers to ensure that operational processes run smoothly and operational risk is minimized. While securities services firms do not receive the same attention as trading or portfolio management, they remain an integral part of the industry’s infrastructure.
The industry is undergoing significant change and some considerable challenges, including consolidation of providers, fee pressure from asset managers and asset owners, and the emergence of new asset classes that require post trade support, to name a few. While revenue grew 7% in 2017 and 9% in 2018, it has been mostly flat since.
“Asset managers, who themselves are under intense fee pressure, have been renegotiating their back office agreements, asking for lower fees and consolidating providers to achieve deeper discounts,” says Stephen Bruel, Senior Analyst for Coalition Greenwich Market Structure & Technology and author of Securities Servicers Enter Pivotal Year of Change.
Opportunities in the “New Normal”
Recent focus by custodians on automation and straight-through processing are encouraging signs for the industry. Productivity gains should continue as firms incorporate more AI, ML and NLP to handle reconciliations and other operational processes.
In addition, securities servicers are developing new streams of revenue outside traditional custody offered in response to changing asset manager needs around expanded services, data, and new product strategies.
“Security servicers have an opportunity to diversify their revenue models by supporting asset managers’ new product offerings, providing stickier and more value-added services, and ensuring their clients a seamless experience with their data,” says Stephen Bruel. “The next 12 months will be critical as we enter this next new normal.”
Securities Servicers Enter Pivotal Year of Change analyzes market conditions and the recent performance of security servicers, including trends in assets under custody, revenues and margins. It examines pressures like fee compression, and identifies three key opportunities for the industry in the months and years ahead.
About Coalition Greenwich
We are a leading provider of strategic benchmarking, analytics and insights to the financial services industry. We specialize in providing unique, high-value and actionable information to help our clients improve their business performance. Headquartered in London, we have 400+ professionals working in London, Paris, New York, Stamford CT, Mumbai, Singapore, and Tokyo.
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About CRISIL
CRISIL is a leading, agile and innovative global analytics company driven by its mission of making markets function better. It is India’s foremost provider of ratings, data, research, analytics and solutions with a strong track record of growth, culture of innovation, and global footprint. It has delivered independent opinions, actionable insights, and efficient solutions to over 100,000 customers through businesses that operate from India, the U.S., the UK, Argentina, Poland, China, Hong Kong and Singapore. It is majority owned by S&P Global Inc., a leading provider of transparent and independent ratings, benchmarks, analytics and data to the capital and commodity markets worldwide. For more information, visit www.crisil.com
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