The fund custodian is responsible for keeping the fund assets, supervising the operation of the fund company and auditing the fund net value and income calculated by the fund manager. Custody fee is the fee charged by the custodian for the custody of fund assets. In China, the fund custodian is a commercial bank. Each fund will have a custodian bank, which can be found on the official website website of the fund company, as shown in the figure, the custodian of a fund under E Fund:
Management fee and custody fee:
(Source: E Fund Management Co., Ltd. official website)
The existence of fund custodian is conducive to ensuring the safety of fund assets and protecting the interests of fund holders.
The fund custodian separates the ownership, use right and custody right of the fund, that is, the fund company can only manage and invest the fund assets, and has no right to misappropriate them privately, thus effectively ensuring the safety of funds. At the same time, the fund custodian will supervise the investment behavior of the fund company, whether it conforms to the relevant laws and regulations and the investment scope agreed in the fund contract, and report the violations to the supervision and management department in a timely manner. The custodian will also account for the assets of the fund to avoid the risks and losses brought to investors by improper operation.