“Following the global financial crisis, it is obvious that investor concerns still linger...Even the biggest institutions are looking to show they now have independent measures in place as an integral part of their new product development processes,” said Harvey Kalman, head of EQT corporate fiduciary and financial services.
EQT, which provides trustee services to different players in the financial sector, believes the industry is increasingly seeing the benefits of external oversight to mitigate risks.
“The risk management benefits of having an independent trustee or fiduciary service provider are increasingly attractive and we have seen a growing level of interest over the last two years in our services,” Mr Kalman said.
The financial services firm has recently been appointed as a ‘responsible entity’ for host organizations including funds managed by Apostle Asset Management and Ventura Investment Management.
“We have recently been talking to a number of institutions about fiduciary services, including the Australian-based banks and superannuation funds. Many of these are currently looking at ways to improve risk management capabilities for new products, through independent fiduciary services such as those offered by EQT,” Mr Kalman stated.
“For instance, we have recently been appointed by the wealth business of one of Australia’s leading banks to act as trustee for a new product, and we continue to be in discussions with a number of other organisations, both Australian-based and overseas.”
EQT said that using their services can also cut costs on top of providing organisational benefits.
“Other organisations realise that it makes sense, both for cost-effectiveness and management reasons, to outsource their responsible entity obligations. As a result, we have received a significant number of trustee and responsible entity appointments in the last 12 months than in any other financial year,” Mr Kalman said.
