Depositary
As depositary (formerly custodian ; English custodian ) refers to banks , in which the investment fund or fund (eg. Securities ) of mutual funds in brokerage accounts secures be.
General
At times, credit institutions are also generally referred to as custodian banks in their function as custodians .
The investment companies are not allowed to keep their investment or special assets in custody themselves, but have to give a depositary an order for safekeeping and administration ( UCITS : Section 68 KAGB , AIF : Section 80 KAGB, real estate : Section 241 KAGB). Depositing investment or special assets with an independent bank ensures that there is a strict separation of company assets and fund assets. The fund assets cannot therefore be reduced or lost through embezzlement or bankruptcy of the investment company.
Legal issues
Depositaries are credit institutions ( Section 68 (2) KAGB) whose function as depositaries requires the approval of BaFin ( Section 69 (1) KAGB). The custodian for a domestic UCITS must be a CRR credit institution within the meaning of Section 1 (3d) KWG that is authorized to conduct custody business in accordance with Section 1 (1) sentence 2 no. 5 KWG. The depositary must have own funds of at least 5 million euros (Section 68 (5) KAGB), the proper fulfillment of the legal or contractual obligations as a depositary by the credit institution must be checked once a year by a suitable auditor (Section 68 (7) KAGB) .
In performing its duties in accordance with Section 70 of the KAGB, the depositary acts honestly, honestly, professionally, independently and exclusively in the interests of the investment company; conflicts of interest must be avoided. According to section 71 (2) of the KAGB, the issue price of investment certificates is to be paid by the investor to the custodian and, minus the surcharge, immediately posted to a blocked account set up for the investment company; the reverse also applies to the redemption price (section 71 (2) and 3 KAGB) as well as for any income ( Section 74 (1) No. 4 KAGB). The depositary also takes on the tasks of a paying agent . The safekeeping obligations of the depositary result from § 72 KAGB.
The Depository Act (Custody Act) understood according to § 1 para. 2 Custody Act under depositary someone to whom his business, the operating securities unlocked for safekeeping entrusted. These are all credit institutions that have been granted a license in accordance with Section 1 (1) No. 5 KWG for the safekeeping and administration of securities for others (custody business).
tasks
In addition to the safekeeping of the fund's assets, it is the job of the depositary to control the fund company ( Section 76 KAGB, Section 83 KAGB). This includes, for example, calculating the issue price and checking whether the transactions carried out on behalf of the fund were carried out at market prices ( market conformity check ). If the depositary evaluates a UCITS with the participation of the capital management company, the capital management company must check the values for assets determined by the depositary in accordance with Section 26 (1) of the Investment Accounting and Valuation Ordinance (KARBV) in a suitable manner for plausibility and work to ensure that there are any irregularities be clarified.
The fund company may only conduct a number of transactions, including taking out loans , if the depositary has given its consent ( Section 84 of the KAGB). In this context, it represents the interests of the investor and is obliged to assert the investor's claims against the fund company. The Federal Financial Supervisory Authority can order the fund company to change the custodian bank if the custodian bank does not properly fulfill its legal obligations ( Section 69 (2) KAGB).
When processing securities transactions, the custodians transfer the securities to the corresponding securities accounts. In the case of a transaction between two customers of the same custodian, the latter can transfer the securities directly. However, as soon as customers from two different custodians trade with each other, the central securities depository usually comes into play. This acts as a central authority with which all custodians are connected and through which transactions are processed. This has the advantage that the custodians do not need any interfaces to other custodians, but only one to the central securities depository. In Germany, this central role is taken over by Clearstream , which acts as the depositary of all other German depositaries.
Succession
If the right of the capital management company to manage a special fund expires (e.g. due to its insolvency ), then in accordance with Section 100 (1) KAGB - if the fund is owned by the capital management company - the fund is transferred to the depositary or - if it is jointly owned by the investors stands - the right of administration and disposal of the fund is transferred to the depositary. The depositary has the fund handle and distribute to investors (§ 100. 2 KAGB). This regulation serves to protect investors , so that other protective measures (such as deposit protection ) are not required for investment certificates .
Depositary statistics
The depository statistics of the German fund association BVI Bundesverband Investment und Asset Management include all depositaries active in Germany (formerly custodian banks).
literature
- Literature on depositary in the catalog of the German National Library
Individual evidence
- ↑ Wolfgang Gerke , Börsenlexikon . Gabler, 1st edition 2002, p. 217; ISBN 3-409-14603-2
- ^ Hans Büschgen , Das kleine Bank-Lexikon . Publishing house economy and finance in Schäffer-Pöschel-Verlag, 3rd edition 2006. ISBN 3-87881-180-2
- ↑ [1] | BVI depository statistics
