Asset Servicing Working Group
Purpose
The Working Group’s purpose is to research the key challenges and issues that continue to impact the Asset Servicing area with the aim of providing best practice guidance for existing services as well as proposing alternative business models. Through these improvements and fundamental change propositions, the Working Group can assist the Securities Services industry in adopting more accurate, efficient and cost-effective Asset Servicing arrangements.
Scope
In scope topics for 2025 include:
Asset Servicing – Corporate Governance
Corporate governance is becoming increasingly important to investors. Within the Asset Servicing arena, governance events – such as Proxy Voting and Class Actions – involve operational processes that are highly manual, inefficient and costly. This subgroup will explore opportunities to improve the current processes through revised practices and automation in order to improve the effectiveness, timeliness and accuracy of the service offering whilst taking into account key influences such as, but not limited to, regulation.
Asset Servicing – Technology Enablers
This subgroup will investigate the potential for utilizing technology, such as – but not limited to – APIs, to improve operational processes in Asset Servicing. Validation of the technology’s potential will be achieved through a number of key use cases, including corporate governance events (see above) and complex corporate actions.
Key Deliverables
Asset Servicing – Corporate Governance
- A set of Principles drafted based on key Findings from an industry survey on operationalizing corporate governance looking at how assets are governed, what challenges are faced and potential solutions to ensure good governance. The efficacy of these Principles will be tested via an Outreach Program to Corporate Issuers and Transfer agents.
Asset Servicing – Technology Enablers
- A summary different technology options that could be used to improve the operational processes in asset servicing for a prioritized set of activities. These priorities will be tested via an Outreach Program to Corporate Issuers and Transfer agents.
Joint Subgroup White Paper
- The paper will validate findings from various surveys conducted by both Asset Services WG Subgroups and engage Corporate Issuers in collaboration to improve Corporate Governance processes and overall levels of Automation in Asset Services. The purpose is to include Issuer feedback before drafting a major ISSA white paper to the industry urging Issuers, Agents, Securities Servicers, Listing Authorities and CSDs to collaborate on prioritized automation initiatives.
Key Outcomes
Key outcomes will be:
- Education of the membership on the current operational processes for proxy voting and class actions and how the Securities Services industry could benefit from change.
- A road map for the Securities Services industry on the potential for technology to enable positive change in asset servicing.
Publications
- Asset Servicing Innovation – The Value Exchange announcement > link
- Asset Servicing Automation – Key Survey Findings > link
- Corporate Actions – Data Sourcing Videos
- Asset Servicing – Data Sourcing: The Case for a Standardized, Automated Single Source Model > PDF 881 kB
- Corporate Governance Survey 2023
- Podcast on Shaping the Target Operating Model for Corporate Actions
- Identifying the Key Challenges and Potential Solutions to Withholding Tax Relief and Recovery Processes (07/2022) > PDF 405 kB
- Reimagining the Corporate Actions Operating Model Survey Key Findings > link
- Corporate Actions 2021: Podcast on the Key Survey Findings (10/2021) > link
- Corporate Actions 2021: Key Survey Findings (08/2021) > PDF 1401 kB
- Report on Current Practices for Beneficial Owner Disclosure (07/2020) > PDF 580 kB
- Digitization at Source of Corporate Action event data (12/2015) > PDF 918 kB
- Progress report on the implementation of ISSA’s Global Principles for Corporate Actions and Proxy Voting (09/2013) > PDF 391 kB
- Final Report on Global Principles for Corporate Actions Processing and Proxy Voting (06/2012) > PDF 797 kB
- Annex to the Final Report (05/2010) > PDF 344 kB
- Overview on Global Principles for Corporate Actions Processing and Proxy Voting (06/2012) > PDF 104 kB
- Issuer Outreach 2012 (06/2012) > PDF 182 kB
- Market Survey Reports of Interim Report on Corporate Actions (05/2010):
Working Group Co-Chairs
- Anne Marie Bria, DTCC
- John Kirkpatrick, Broadridge Financial Solutions Ltd
Executive Sponsor
- Mike Sleightholme, Broadridge Financial Solutions Inc.
Institutions Represented by Experts in the Working Group
- ABN AMRO
- Acupay System LLC
- B3 Brazilian Exchange and OTC
- Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. (BBVA)
- Banque Lombard Odier & Cie SA
- BNP Paribas
- BNY
- Broadridge Financial Solutions
- Capco
- Central Securities Depository Joint-Stock Company Kazakhstan
- Chongwa (Macao) Financial Asset Exchange CO., Ltd.
- Citi
- Cofinpro AG
- Datos Insights
- DBS Bank
- Deutsche Bank AG
- Deutsche Börse Group
- Euroclear
- Fidelity Management and Research LLC
- Financial Recovery Technologies
- FIS
- GlobeTax Services
- Grupo Bolsa Mexicana de Valores
- Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited
- Intesa Sanpaolo S.p.A.
- JP Morgan Chase & Co.
- Julius Baer Group AG
- Montran
- Nasdaq Inc.
- Natixis S.A.
- Northern Trust Corporation
- NSDL Group
- Proxymity
- Rand Merchant Bank – Custody Services
- Royal Bank of Canada
- S&P Global
- SIX Group AG
- Société Générale S.A.
- SWIFT SCRL
- Tata Group
- The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation
- U.S. Bank, N.A.
- Unicredit S.p.A.