(pictured: David Travers)

RBC Investor & Treasury Services, the only master custodian in Australia which specialises in working for fund managers, has celebrated 15 years of operations here with its reappointment by Perpetual after a review.

The deal caps off a good period for RBC, which acquired Perpetual’s fund services business and launched itself in Australia in 2001. Last year the firm also won the business of multi-affiliate managers Bennelong Funds Management and Legg Mason, although it recently lost the boutique Northcape.

Apart from its size, the Perpetual deal is important because of the increasing sophistication of the firm’s institutional and retail offerings, including a growing proportion of offshore funds being managed from Sydney.

David Travers, RBC’s Australian head of Investor & Treasury Services, said RBC had worked closely with Perpetual since 2001 and was proud to continue providing the operational expertise and insight required to support the manager’s growth in Australia.

“We’re committed to providing Perpetual with an outstanding client experience through the delivery of operational excellence and an enhanced focus on client collaboration,” he said.

Paul Statham, Perpetual Investments general manager operations and business, said RBC had the operational capability and client focus to support the firm’s growth, and it came with the backing of one of the largest banks with the highest credit rating (AA) of all the global custody providers operating in Australia.

RBC regained full ownership of its investor services business in 2013, after a period of joint ownership with Dexia Group, which is understood to have fostered a more focused operation in Australia and elsewhere. The specialisation in working for fund managers, rather than super funds as well, also helps this focus.

RBC I&TS employs approximately 140 people in Sydney, offering a full institutional and retail service including unit registry. Its two main processing centres are Toronto and Malaysia.