Global Custody Pro - 20 August 2025

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Welcome to Global Custody Pro, read by custody professionals like you. I'm Brennan McDonald, Managing Editor. I write about the global custody industry, having spent over 12 years in financial services, including working at a global custody bank. An AI voice reads the audio version of this newsletter. Have feedback? Just reply to this email or connect with us on LinkedIn.

Table of Contents

• 🌏 Global Custody News

  • HUB24 Reports Record FY25 Profit Growth

  • Apex Group Names New CFO and CBO

• 🚀 Digital Asset News

  • AEHL Partners With BitGo for Bitcoin Strategy

  • DeFi Technologies Q2: Revenue $32.1M, Raises Guida …

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🌏 Global Custody News

HUB24 Reports Record FY25 Profit Growth

HUB24 Limited posted a 44% increase in underlying net profit to $97.8 million for the year ended June 30, 2025, as Australia's fastest-growing investment platform captured record client inflows. The company reported revenue growth of 24% to $406.6 million, with platform revenue increasing 28% to $323.3 million, driven by $19.8 billion in net inflows, a company and industry record. Statutory net profit rose 68% to $79.5 million.

The wealth technology company expanded its underlying EBITDA margin to 39.9% from 36.1% the previous year, reflecting scale benefits as funds under administration reached $136.4 billion. HUB24 increased its adviser base by 572 to 5,097 users, representing the most significant annual increase since FY21. Meanwhile, its Class SMSF accounting business added approximately 8,000 accounts, marking its strongest growth year since fiscal year 2020.

Looking ahead, HUB24 provided platform FUA guidance of $148-162 billion for FY27, excluding portfolio administration and reporting services. The company announced a final dividend of 32.0 cents per share, fully franked, bringing the total FY25 dividend to 56.0 cents, representing a 47% payout ratio of underlying net profit.

Apex Group Names New CFO and CBO

Apex Group Ltd announced two senior executive appointments to its leadership team, naming Kimberly DeTrask as Chief Financial Officer and Maxwell Johnston as Chief Business Officer. DeTrask will join from State Street on October 1, 2025, where she has served for over 12 years, most recently as Treasurer and Executive Vice President. Both executives will serve on the Group Executive Committee, reporting directly to Peter Hughes, Founder and CEO.

DeTrask brings extensive global financial operations experience, having previously served as CFO of State Street International and spent more than 14 years at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston in the Risk and Policy unit. She holds a CFA designation and completed Harvard's CFO Leadership Program. Johnston, who has been with Apex for seven years, transitions into the newly created Chief Business Officer role after serving in various positions, including driving M&A strategy, Chief of Staff, and most recently as interim Chief Financial Officer.

The appointments come as Apex Group, founded in Bermuda in 2003 and now employing over 13,000 professionals globally, continues to expand its financial services operations. Hughes stated that DeTrask's appointment will enable the business to "drive institutional sophistication through its finance infrastructure." At the same time, Johnston will focus on driving commercial alignment and enhancing client experience across the company's regional operations.

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🚀 Digital Asset News

AEHL Partners With BitGo for Bitcoin Strategy

Antelope Enterprise Holdings Limited announced it has signed a formal cooperation agreement with BitGo to implement the second phase of its Bitcoin acquisition strategy. The company will complete account opening and Bitcoin purchases on the BitGo platform, with acquired Bitcoin stored on-chain using multi-signature private key management.

CEO Tingting Zhang stated that partnering with BitGo represents a key strategic decision to enhance asset security, transparency and compliance. BitGo is licensed and regulated in South Dakota and New York State, registered with FinCEN as a Money Services Business, and its Singapore subsidiary holds a Major Payment Institution licence from MAS. The custodian's assets under management have increased from approximately $60 billion at the beginning of the year to over $100 billion as of the first half of 2025.

AEHL stated that it will utilise its expertise in digital asset trading and cross-border settlement to facilitate Bitcoin purchases, with all acquisitions fully verifiable on-chain. The company, which also operates energy infrastructure solutions through AEHL US LLC and holds 51% of livestreaming e-commerce business Kylin Cloud, stated it will regularly update the market on purchase schedules, holdings and average acquisition prices while pursuing strategic expansion in Web3 and crypto-finance sectors.

DeFi Technologies Q2: Revenue $32.1M, Raises Guidance

DeFi Technologies delivered Q2 2025 adjusted revenues of $32.1 million and adjusted EBITDA of $21.6 million, demonstrating resilience in softer market conditions. The company's flagship Valor unit generated $6.9 million in staking/lending income and $2.1 million in management fees, while DeFi Alpha trading recorded $17.3 million returns in May. Assets under management totalled $772.8 million as of June 30, increasing to $947 million by July 31.

The company experienced lower monetisation rates in Q2 due to Bitcoin's dominance rising to 65%, reducing exposure to higher-yielding altcoins. CEO Olivier Roussy-Newton noted that conditions have since improved as altcoin performance strengthened. CFO Paul Bozzocchi highlighted that average AUM monetisation fell to 4.7% in Q2 from 6.2% in Q1, primarily due to asset mix rather than declining staking yields.

Looking ahead, DeFi Technologies raised its 2025 revenue guidance to $218 million and adjusted EBITDA to $186 million, citing improved market composition and a strong pipeline of DeFi Alpha trades. The company continues to expand internationally, with regulatory approvals pending in Kenya and Turkey, while targeting 100 listed products by year-end. Management is renewing its share buyback program after repurchasing 675,900 shares in Q2.

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