BetaShares appoints Citi Australia

Citi Australia announced it has been appointed by Australian fund manager BetaShares as their provider of Custody and Fund Administration services.

The strategic partnership comes off the back of growth for BetaShares, who manage the broadest range of exchange traded funds (ETFs) in the Australian market. Citi’s Custody and Fund Services business has also continued a strong growth trajectory across the Asia Pacific region.

“We are thrilled to partner with BetaShares, one of Australia’s largest and most innovative ETF managers,” Luke Randell, Head of Markets and Securities Services at Citi Australia, said.

“With over $21 billion in assets under management, they are a leader in the category and we look forward to working with them as they expand their market presence and grow their product suite for investors.”

Citi has been growing its ETF management suite across markets globally to meet the demand for growing ETF ownership beyond retail and self-managed super fund segments, through institutional clients, self-managed accounts and model portfolios.

“It is Citi’s goal to support ETF providers through their entire lifecycle, from market-making to execution, administration to reporting. We have designed a fully integrated front to back office service model to support BetaShares,” Randell said.

BetaShares expanded its ETF offering with the launch of its Crypto Innovators ETF on the ASX on Thursday last week. It provides investors with exposure to a portfolio of global companies that are at the forefront of the crypto economy.

“Citi is uniquely placed to assist us to execute on our plans to expand our suite of investment solutions for our growing investor base,” Alex Vynokur, CEO of BetaShares, said.

“We are confident in Citi’s ability to provide the required operational support towards our efforts to continually improve the experience for our investors.”

“We are delighted to be partnering with Citi for custody and investment administration services as we continue to grow our business across a wide range of asset classes and investment exposures,” Debbie Bennett, Chief Operating Officer at BetaShares, said.

This follows the 24 new clients that were recently welcomed to Citi Australia in the past 18 months, after a client transfer agreement with the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) in 2020.