Perpetual
| Primary URL | Location | Industry | www[.]perpetual[.]com[.]au |
Country
Australia
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Financial Services
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Profile
Perpetual is an Australian financial services firm operating across asset management and wealth management. Its core activities include managing investment funds for institutional and retail clients and providing private wealth advisory services. The organisation offers a range of investment products and portfolio management solutions. Its operations are primarily focused on the Australian market, serving a client base that includes individuals, corporations, and institutions.
A notable aspect of Perpetual's service delivery is its reliance on third-party technology providers for certain client-facing functions. This was evidenced by a significant IT security incident in June 2023, which originated from a compromised external unit registry system. This event impacted the myPerpetual client portal and affected approximately 45,000 clients, demonstrating the scale of its retail wealth management operations. The incident caused an extended service outage, specifically hindering client access to accounts and the processing of transactions. The firm's response involved disconnecting from the affected third-party systems to contain the issue, highlighting a operational dependency on external vendors for critical registry functions. The core investment management systems and client holdings were reported to be secure and unaffected throughout this disruption, indicating a degree of segmentation between its proprietary infrastructure and external platforms. The organisation worked to restore services and eventually resumed normal transaction processing operations.
The incident underscores Perpetual's position as a substantial entity within the Australian financial landscape, with a significant number of clients in its wealth management division. Its operational model integrates external technological partnerships for key services while maintaining internal control over its primary investment management infrastructure. The event also illustrates a clear distinction between its Asset Management and Wealth Management divisions in terms of client impact from a specific system failure. The firm's public communications during the outage were focused on providing updates on service restoration and interim measures for clients, reflecting its client-facing priorities.