Fund administration provider Apex Group has selected Citi to provide custody services to its global client base.
Apex has grown exponentially in recent years through a handful of acquisitions, bringing its total assets under administration to $560 billion.
The activity saw the administrator takeover Equinoxe Alternative Investment Services, Deutsche Bank’s Alternative Fund Services business and Custom House, among others. These deals propelled Apex to become one of the top 10 administrators by size.
The deal with Citi will see Citi provide integrated custody services and streamlined operational processes to Apex’s asset management clients.
“Partnering with Citi to deliver custody services to our global client base will add great value to the Apex offering through the bank’s proprietary network and complementary global operational and service models,” said David Rhydderch, head of regulated product, Apex Group.
“Citi’s institutional capabilities fit well with our ongoing growth trajectory and recently acquired banking and depositary services.”
The news comes the day after Citi announced it had been appointed as custodian and tax services provider for the US assets of Indeval’s International Quotation System (SIC). The SIC program was created by the Mexican Stock Exchange, Bolsa Mexicana de Valores (BMV), and Indeval, the Mexican Central Securities Depository (CSD), to provide investors access to international securities and further develop the local capital market.
In December, the custodian was also appointed by Kames Capital to provide depositary services for its UK fund range, representing approximately £ 7 billion in assets.
“We are very pleased to have been selected by the Apex Group and look forward to helping them achieve their impressive growth objectives,” Sanjiv Sawhney, global head of custody and fund services at Citi said. “As we continue to build on the momentum of our custody platform, this mandate highlights our commitment to serve our clients across jurisdictions with an integrated custody model that delivers accuracy, risk mitigation, market intimacy and low latency, whilst driving operational efficiencies.”