Connect with us

Business

5 Important Things Investment Firms Should Look for When Choosing a Custodian, Presented By Global Custody Solutions

Published

on

A custodian’s duties and responsibilities are numerous, including interacting with your clients, overseeing securities transactions, removing fees from accounts, posting dividends, and sending statements. In other words, they act as your business extension, reflect your RIA (registered investment advisor), and impact clients. Since their roles touch all aspects of a business, you cannot overlook the importance of selecting the most suitable custodian. Read on to learn five essential things investment firms must consider during your vetting process.  

The Importance of Personal Relationships

Every RIA understands the worth of a personal relationship. Most of your business’s success depends on the capacity to develop a robust personal relationship with your clients. However, custodians’ support and personal services are becoming hard to find, with some custodians choosing to route registered investment advisors through call answering services. This often translates into working with someone who knows very little about your practice. Moreover, it could take longer to receive the resolution and support you require. Therefore, it is paramount to understand your custodian’s strategy for service and ask the right questions before materializing a business partnership.

Key questions you could ask include:

  • Will you reach a seasoned team member directly, or will you be sent to a call answering agent?
  • Who will you contact should you have concerns or require support?
  • Can you have one-on-one meetings?
  • What is their average response time?

Assess Technology

Each custodian utilizes technology platforms. It is essential to examine every custodian’s solutions and flexibility for managing everyday transactions like portfolio management, trading, and financial planning. Some smaller custodians might not provide advanced technology platforms that allow you to access your accounts online. Ensure you select a firm that will assist you to do business seamlessly, and quickly.

As technology advances, it’s imperative you select a firm that adapts fast. Choosing a company that is slow to improve technology could result in future business frustration and losses. Choose a more technologically advanced custodian who will streamline your processes.

Compare Pricing

Financial institutions charge transaction and custodial fees for the maintenance and management of accounts. Often custodial fees are charged for management tasks, such as storing and collecting dividends and interest of your investment and sending statements. Please note, custodial fees could affect your business returns. Choosing a company with competitive pricing can help maximize your savings growth and investment returns.

Additionally, depending on how you want to use accounts, you should compare fees like paper statement fees, overdraft fees, account closure fees, and wire transfer fees. Although these costs might not be the basis of your final decision, remember to include them when evaluating all custodians. It will prevent surprises along the way.

Check Whether the Custodian Has the Right Services and Products

There are many custodians, providing a wide selection of specialties, services, and products. It is crucial to choose one that meets your business needs. Create a checklist of what you need, and then engage a firm that ticks the most boxes.

Many people are unaware of one-stop shops that offer trust services, banking, and custody and use several vendors for the services. If you take the time, you could acquire them all in one location at a competitive cost.

Understand the Firm’s Reputation and Stature

Since you trust your custodian with what you value the most, your business, you should know of their reputation in the market for offering outstanding customer care services and protecting financial assets. Check whether the firm has received any outside recognition for their services and how reputable they are in your sector.

Ideally, financial experts would collaborate and share business ideas, increasing your practice’s economies of scale, while still maintaining the capability to brand your business as a trusted institution. That was the concept behind the establishment of Global Custodian Solutions, and we will continue to execute this mission on behalf of our members. For years we have been dedicated to the success of investment advisors. We make decisions and use strategies that allow you to strictly prioritize your clients. Our experienced team innovates, collaborates, and works to deliver exceptional value and world-class services irrespective of your business complexity or RIA size.

Continue Reading
Advertisement

Business

Austal, a startup, has Raised $43 Million to Build a Massive sailing cargo trimaran

Published

on

Austal will use the €40 million ($43 million) fundraising round that VELA, a French firm that was founded in November 2022, has completed to construct the largest sailing cargo trimaran in the world. The company’s goal is to offer a sustainable cargo service for goods including pharmaceuticals, industrial parts, medical equipment, and cosmetics that are transported across the Atlantic.

11th Hour Racing, Crédit Mutuel Impact, and BPI—the French Public Investment Bank—led the funding round. The corporation claims that the Franco-American partners are as committed to promoting more sustainable transportation as it is. They think the Trimaran design will also provide a quick fix, particularly for businesses who don’t want to keep their inventory “on the water” for transit.

With the help of Austal’s distinctive design and technology from offshore racing, VELA anticipates being able to operate entirely under sail and give a transit time of fewer than 15 days from loading to crossing the ocean and unloading. They argue that the same service takes at least 20 days for huge containerships. In addition, the trimaran’s cargo holds will be kept at a regulated temperature to guarantee “the safety and integrity of high-value-added transported goods.”

A vessel with dimensions of 220 feet (67 meters), an air draft of 200 feet (61 meters), and a width of 82 feet (25 meters) is required by the design. The aluminum hull will be constructed with Austal’s industry expertise. Carbon will be used for the masts.

In addition to two hydro-generators, the ship will include more than 3,230 square feet of solar panels. 51 shipping containers’ worth of cargo will fit inside it.

Austal, which is renowned for its proficiency in multihull and aluminum constructions, was chosen by VELA following an international tender in which over thirty shipyards took part, according to VELA, with assistance from BRS Shipbrokers. Austal’s experience will be advantageous to the first VELA Trimaran, which will also use the sailing systems of the offshore racing team MerConcept.

Austal Philippines will build the ship in Balamban, Cebu, and it is expected to be delivered in the second half of 2026. Furthermore, according to VELA, 30 percent of the construction will be completed by French firms, including rigging, sails, and hydro-generators, thereby enhancing the quality and expertise of the country’s sailing sector. The ship will have a French registration.

“Austal is excited to partner with VELA on this groundbreaking project. Our expertise in multihull design and aluminum shipbuilding, combined with VELA’s innovative vision, will create a revolutionary sailing cargo trimaran,” stated Paddy Gregg, CEO of Austal. “This vessel will set new speed, reliability, and sustainability standards for transatlantic shipping.”

The company claims that the funds from the latest round will enable VELA to formally begin construction of its first vessel. Additionally, they intend to use the funding to bolster their operations and sales teams in the US and France.

VELA intends to run between the east coast of the United States and the Atlantic coast of France. They anticipate starting operations in the second half of 2026, joining the increasing number of cargo ships powered by sail that French companies are launching for the Atlantic. At least four more ships are expected to be in operation by 2027 or 2028, according to VELA. Reaching one departure each week and increasing departure frequency are the objectives.

Continue Reading

Business

Startup Talks of a $9 billion valuation are confusing AI search

Published

on

Perplexity AI Inc., an artificial intelligence startup developing a search engine to take on Google, is in early talks with investors to raise capital at a $9 billion valuation, according to a source familiar with the situation.

The insider, who wished to remain anonymous while discussing personal matters, stated that the corporation is looking to raise over $500 million in the investment round.

The company may increase its prior valuation of $3 billion from a capital round earlier this year, which includes the money the company would raise. It’s very early in the talks, so things might change or the conversation could break down. The business refused to comment.

The recent surge in Perplexity’s valuation is indicative of the keen interest of venture capitalists in supporting AI startups. As late as April of this year, the business had a $1 billion valuation. Large sums have also been raised by its competitors and colleagues, such as OpenAI, which earlier this month closed a $6.6 billion financing round at a valuation of $157 billion.

The source claimed that Perplexity’s most recent finance discussions happened as a result of investors reaching out to the business, not because the startup was looking to acquire further funds.

Apart from the commercial and free versions of its search tool, Perplexity provides various other services. It recently unveiled additional tools for searches connected to finance, such as stock prices and firm earnings data, and released a platform that enables businesses to search internal information in addition to the internet.

In addition, the business has started a number of revenue-sharing agreements with large publishers, while being accused of plagiarism by certain news organizations.

Among the company’s investors are Nvidia Corp. and Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon.com Inc. and a partner of SoftBank Group Corp.

Continue Reading

Business

Microsoft and OpenAI are at odds about the tech behemoth’s ownership of the business

Published

on

Even while Microsoft and OpenAI are developing a distinctly novel technology, they are arguing about a well-known economic issue: how much stock should I receive in return for my investment?

According to the Wall Street Journal, the two businesses engaged investment banks to assist in determining how Microsoft’s about $13.75 billion in investments in OpenAI since 2019 will be interpreted after the firm transforms from a nonprofit to a for-profit business.

Microsoft called in Morgan Stanley, and OpenAI recruited Goldman Sachs to counsel it throughout the process, according to the Journal. The two prestigious banks will now need to guide their closely connected clients through a complex financial decision regarding Microsoft’s ownership stake in OpenAI.

Microsoft’s ownership interest is being negotiated at a time when OpenAI’s value has skyrocketed.

The ChatGPT developer finished a funding round earlier this month, valuing the company at $157 billion. The chipmaker Nvidia, the venture capital firm Thrive Capital, and Masayoshi Son’s SoftBank were among the investors in that round. A few months after ChatGPT-3 was released in November 2022, in January 2023, Microsoft made a huge $10 billion investment in OpenAI, valuing the business at $86 billion.

Despite $3.7 billion in income, OpenAI is still losing money and expects to lose $5 billion this year. However, based on internal business forecasts obtained by the New York Times, OpenAI anticipates phenomenal growth, with its top line expected to soar to $11.6 billion next year.

Because of OpenAI’s nonprofit status, Microsoft’s investment entitles it to a share of the revenues made by the company’s board-managed for-profit subsidiary. The original structure of the for-profit subsidiary placed a cap on the amount of earnings it could make. There was a cap on Microsoft’s share of the cap as well.

It was reported in September that OpenAI plans to reorganize as a for-profit public benefit business. This special status would enable it to dedicate itself to objectives aimed at improving society in addition to providing a profit to shareholders.

Though it won’t be the organization that runs the new for-profit OpenAI version, the charity will still be around. The new for-profit corporation will nonetheless have a minority ownership held by the nonprofit. The action was taken in an attempt to increase the company’s appeal to potential investors, who are probably already lining up to offer money for a share in the business that is synonymous with the AI revolution.

OpenAI is reorganizing and will grant CEO Sam Altman shares in the business. In an earlier statement, Altman alluded to his “tiny bit of exposure via the YC investment,” which was the renowned startup incubator Y Combinator, of which he served as president. As is customary for executives, Altman and other leaders in this freshly established company would probably receive a far higher portion.

After earlier reports suggested that he would acquire as much as 7% of OpenAI, Altman stated during a company-wide meeting in September that there were no plans for him to receive a “giant equity stake” in the company. During the same meeting, investors expressed worries about Altman’s lack of ownership in the firm he was heading, according to Altman and OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar.

It is probable that Microsoft will endeavor to bargain for the scope of its governance privileges in OpenAI. Despite Microsoft’s significant investments in OpenAI, CEO Satya Nadella was taken aback when Altman was momentarily dismissed by the OpenAI board in November 2023. After Altman was reinstated, Nadella made a number of public appearances where he reaffirmed Microsoft’s support for OpenAI while making hints that he would like more control over the company’s corporate governance.

“At this point, I think it’s very clear that something has to change around the governance,”Nadella told  in November 2023, as Altman’s ouster was unfolding..

Continue Reading

Trending

error: Content is protected !!