Asset Servicing
Scotland's asset servicing sector has developed substantially from the days when Scottish banks provided safe custody for physical share certificates - an area that was vital to the smooth running of the London Stock Exchange. Since the days of paper certificates the sector has changed beyond recognition and Scotland has been at the heart of dynamic advances in service and technology. From the early 1980s Scotland has rapidly established itself as a centre of excellence in asset servicing and become an important operating base for many of the world’s leaders in this area.
Key facts and figures
Scotland’s importance is a global context is illustrated by the number of companies servicing wider markets from Scotland – of the member companies in this sector, all service the rest of the UK, while many service Europe, the US and Asia from Scotland.
Business activities delivered by asset servicing companies from Scotland include:
- Custody
- Securities servicing
- Investment accounting
- Performance measurement
- Trustee and depositary services
- Treasury services
- Shareholder services
- Compliance
- Retail fund administration
- Client management
Key Sector Statistics for SFE member companies
| Employment within Scotland | >3,800 |
| Employment outside Scotland | >585,000 |
| Funds under adminstration in Scotland* | >£685billion |
*As of 31 March 2007
Did you know?
The global custody product was conceived out of changes to United States pensions law. In 1974, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) came to the statute books, forcing US pension plan sponsors to segregate investment management and custody of the underlying assets.
The term 'global custody' was invented by a Chase Manhattan manager in 1974. The bank developed the product for a single US-based institutional investor. At that time, the service covered 15 markets around the world.
Scripophily is a term coined in the mid-1970s to describe the hobby of collecting antique bonds, stocks and other financial instruments.
