A clear comparison explaining how custodians and depositories differ in legal ownership, roles, liabilities, and investor protection across global financial systems.
Highlights:
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Ownership vs Safekeeping: Depository holds legal title of assets and oversees ownership records, while custodians safeguard assets on behalf of clients without owning them.
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Regulatory Responsibilities: Depositaries have extensive oversight duties (e.g. monitoring fund operations, valuation, ownership verification), whereas custodians focus on settlement, asset servicing, and reporting.
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Liability & Client Scope: Depositaries are often legally liable for loss of assets under regulation; custodians’ liability is more limited. Also, depositaries typically serve investment funds; custodians serve a broader client base including institutions and individual investors.
Summarized Story:
In the financial market infrastructure, custodians and depositories both play crucial roles, but they are not interchangeable. A custodian primarily safeguards assets—securities, cash, sometimes even physical items—handling settlement, dividend collection, foreign exchange, and client-level reporting. However, the custodian does not legally own those assets.
On the other hand, a depository (or depositary, depending on jurisdiction) holds legal title of securities, maintains the central ledger of ownership, and has additional responsibilities like oversight, verifying compliance for investment funds, and ensuring valuation correctness. Depositories are typically mandated by law for regulated funds and bear higher liability if assets are mismanaged or lost.
Understanding the distinction is vital for investors, fund managers, and service providers, because it determines who has legal ownership, who is responsible for what aspects of asset management, and how regulatory protections apply.
