Every year asset managers and other financial services clients take part in the R&M Investor Services Survey to score their service provider out of seven. Ratings are based on performance in categories such as corporate actions, reporting, settlement and safekeeping, and client service and account management.
The survey, which is normally published in April, was delayed due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, however, it was conducted during the same period of November 2019 and the end of January 2020. Responses came from over 400 asset managers and asset owners globally.
The relationship between the service provider and client is long term and often entered into after much research and evaluation of competing offers. Once the decision is made, each party must commit to the other and changing that relationship does not happen frequently as it is usually too difficult and expensive.
After the initial honeymoon phase, the relationship moves onto a different level where it is all about maintenance. It is important both at the evaluation stage and during the much longer period of general maintenance to monitor service levels.
Overall score
Keeping the top spot on the overall score table was Swiss asset manager Pictet, jumping 0.19 points to 6.43. Clients described the service of Pictet as “excellent” and “consistently the best”.
RBC Investor & Treasury Services (I&TS) also kept its position of second place, totalling 6.32. One respondent said: “We have recently transferred to RBC and the service provided is a lot better than our old one. People are available to help with queries and seem to understand our needs.”
HSBC came in third place, totalling 6.10, with an increase of 0.11, while Northern Trust came in at fourth with a total score of 5.79. Although Northern Trust kept the same position as last year, it saw a decline of 0.12 points from its 2019 score of 5.91.
BNY Mellon and J.P. Morgan also saw decreases of 0.06 and 0.12, respectively. State Street showed the biggest fall from its 2019 score with a decrease of 0.44, but it did jump from eighth to seventh spot.
Commenting on State Street as a service provider, clients noted: “We find that for our purposes the State Street online platform is the best. They did make some changes that we were not too fond of but once we figured out how to navigate the system, we get the same reports from before.”
Citi jumped up a position to eighth but also showed a decrease of 0.42, taking its 2020 total score to 4.74.
Top 200 asset managers
The survey also looks at how the top 200 global asset managers rank, based on the value of global assets under management. First place was awarded to HSBC, with an increase of 0.39 points from its 2019 score of 5.48.
Last year, HSBC also jumped 0.21 points from fourth place to first. Clients revealed that service levels at HSBC have “remained high during the year across all areas”.
Experiencing the biggest loss was J.P. Morgan, who dropped 0.54 points to 4.78 and into fifth place. Although some respondents said over the last 12 months they have experienced “excellent service”, others suggested it could be “a bit more proactive” in certain areas.
Although it moved up a place to take the fourth spot, J.P. Morgan saw a loss of 0.33 from its score the previous year.
Elsewhere, Northern Trust came in second place scoring 5.58 and BNY Mellon saw a slight increase of 0.01 taking its total score to 5.12. A client of Northern Trust said it is “by far our number one custodian”. The client explained that this is “due to the day-to-day people that we deal with over at the bank. It all comes down to the person on the other side of the phone”.
The experts
When it comes to ‘the experts’ results, that is, results from respondents that work with five or more providers, BNY Mellon came out on top, jumping from third spot. Clients said that BNY Mellon has provided “high levels of co-operation and a smooth-running service”.
Last year, BNP Paribas took the top spot, however, this year the service provider did not have enough responses to qualify for the tables, according to R&M Surveys. Some comments from respondents included “excellent relationship and dedicated professionals”, while another said that “reporting is old school i.e. in excel, delivered by email”.
Meanwhile, Northern Trust jumped from fourth spot last year into second, scoring 5.14. The table also showed that J.P. Morgan dropped 0.24 points and Citi saw a decrease of 0.34. State Street witnessed the biggest loss at 0.45 but did move from sixth into fifth. One client explained that State Street “has been ineffective at resolving inquiries”.
Geographical analysis
Sitting top of the ranks for the UK and Mainland Europe was Pictet. The service provider saw its score increase by 0.29 in the UK, while in Mainland Europe it increased by 0.14.
In the UK, J.P. Morgan dropped by 0.64 points, taking its total to 4.93, while in Mainland Europe, it saw a small increase of 0.16.
Other results in the UK saw HSBC in third and Northern Trust in fourth. State Street dropped by 0.40 points but did move from sixth to fifth place. Elsewhere, BNY Mellon’s score declined by 0.06 points and was placed in sixth.
In Mainland Europe, RBC I&TS dropped into third with 6.27 after seeing a 0.09 decrease from its score in 2019, Northern Trust came in fourth place scoring 6.08 – the same score as last year.
Finally, BNY Mellon scored 5.25, a 0.05 decrease in its score of 5.30 last year.
Meanwhile, in North America, RBC I&TS kept its first-place position, increasing its score by 0.21. However, Pictet closed the gap on RBC I&TS from 0.6 to 0.3, after seeing an increase of 0.24 from its 2019 result. Commenting on RBC I&TS, one respondent said its client service is “definitely one of the best across the industry”.
The client noted: “When we need support with queries for specific market practices they always take the time to clearly explain the details to us so that we can make the right decisions related to setups and operational processes. The team is approachable, and you feel that you can reach out to them at any time. They are always available to have a chat and help us with our queries.”
Witnessing the biggest decline was State Street, dropping 0.97 points from last year to 3.80.
Northern Trust scored 6.12 and BNY Mellon scored 5.94, both experienced an increase of 0.15 from its score last year and J.P. Morgan jumped 0.23 points to 5.54.
