Discretionary / Non-Discretionary Portfolios under CDC Trustee and Custodial Services hit the 100 mark

In 2000, the mutual fund industry started flourishing in the Pakistani Capital Market and provided a new concept and investment arena to retail and individual investors who possess inadequate knowledge of the capital market but are interested in utilizing its benefits.

CDC, realizing the importance and service demands of this sector, started Trustee & Custodial Services in 2002, initially with two open-ended mutual funds having a net assets value of Rs. 500 million. In a short span of time, CDC’s Trustee & Custodial Services, by keeping itself abreast with developments in the mutual fund industry operation, has achieved tremendous growth. The Company, through its proactive approach and high standards of service, has obtained the leading position in this service sector and is currently providing Trustee & Custodial Services to 167 Mutual Funds including 17 Pension Funds being managed by various Asset Management Companies (AMCs) / Pension Fund Managers (PFM) with an aggregate Fund size of approximately Rs. 702 billion.

As Trustee and Custodian, CDC’s role is to take into custody all the assets of the Collective Investment Schemes/Pension Funds, hold them in trust on behalf of the unit/certificate holders and carry out instructions of AMCs/PFMs in respect of the investment portfolio. Throughout the process, CDC ensures regulatory compliances, protecting unit holders’ interests and maintaining confidentiality and resilience.

In 2010, to provide for the inherent need of the growing Capital Market, CDC took another step and introduced Custody Service for Discretionary and non-Discretionary Portfolios (Portfolio Clients) under the umbrella of its Trustee & Custodial Services.

In general, Portfolio Clients (including provident / gratuity funds) enjoy greater freedom and convenience through tailor made investment strategies based on specific objectives and preferences. For the purpose, clients with inadequate knowledge have direct access to research based expert guidance and customized solutions such as risk profiling, asset allocation advice and investment strategy review, provided by the Investment Advisor. Under this arrangement, Portfolio Clients prefer to appoint CDC as their independent Custodian to ensure transparency and safekeeping of their securities. Our commitment to the Custody Service is demonstrated by our continuous investment in human resource and technology to provide Portfolio Clients with swift and efficient services. The strength of our Custody Service lies in:

*             Settlement of investments on the advice of investment advisor

*             Safekeeping of securities

*             Reporting to clients depicting the picture of investor’s portfolio

*             Cash management and treasury functions.

Together, these strengths enable us to give our Portfolio Clients an unsurpassed level of support and service. The opportunity also gave us recognition in the local market under the new role of Custodian.

This quarter our custodian business comprising of Portfolios Clients made another history and saw the number of portfolios hit the 100 mark, with net assets worth of Rs. 24.91 billion. CDC’s major Portfolio Clients include employee benefit funds (gratuity and provident funds), high net worth individuals and separately managed corporate portfolios in the following fragmentation.