Calastone, the largest global funds network, announces the opening of their regional headquarters in Singapore, underpinning their aggressive growth strategy to expand product offerings and footprint across the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region.
Calastone has been disrupting the investment funds industry since it entered the APAC market in 2009 and is committed to helping Asia’s funds industry take advantage of new technology and the opportunity of digital transformation to enhance operational efficiencies and reduce frictional costs.
Ross Fox, Managing Director for APAC has relocated to Singapore from Sydney where he was previously responsible for managing Calastone’s Australia business. With more than 15 years of experience working across the asset management industry, Ross will lead Calastone’s strategy and business expansion in the APAC region. Ross has been with Calastone since 2012, leveraging on his expertise to build deeper relationships and deliver technological solutions to drive efficiency and automation for the firm’s clients.
“The launch of Calastone’s office as the regional headquarters for APAC reaffirms our commitment to Singapore and the region. APAC is an important and strategic growth market for our business. Opening our regional hub in Singapore will help us support the growing demand for digitalisation in APAC’s funds industry, while enhancing our service delivery capabilities to both new and existing clients,” said Ross Fox, Managing Director, Head of APAC at Calastone.
In APAC, the fund management industry is projected to outpace any other region globally, with assets under management (AUM) to hit S$41.1 trillion in 2025. As one of the region’s key financial hubs, Singapore stands to capitalise on APAC’s strong growth fundamentals, with an estimated S$21 billion of funds transacted just in the first quarter of 2022. However, sustaining such high levels of growth do not come without its challenges. Industry analysis shows that margins across the globe will shrink from 31.6% in 2021 to 28.5% in 2025, with higher levels of AUM resulting in more operating costs.
Globally headquartered in London with 8 offices in North America, Europe and APAC, Calastone’s new office in Singapore will strengthen the firm’s ability to connect the world’s largest community of funds. With 70% of fund flows in Singapore managed by Calastone’s network already, the firm is well positioned to enhance the city-state’s unrivalled status as a pan-Asian asset management hub.
Ross adds, “APAC is home to a vibrant and dynamic asset management ecosystem. At Calastone we are committed to leading the digital transformation of the funds industry in the region. Using the power of the very latest technologies, we are streamlining the processing of funds in a frictionless environment. Our mission is to reduce complexity and drive out risk and cost for all participants, enhancing the industry’s ability to innovate, automate and deliver greater value to the investor, and in turn making investing accessible to all.”
Calastone’s new regional headquarters will also serve as a launchpad to extend its suite of offerings from their market-leading Distributed Market Infrastructure (DMI) to more fund managers, distributors and platforms in the region, expanding their client portfolio which already includes UOB Asset Management, Allianz PNB Life, StashAway and GrabInvest.