RBC Dexia Investor Services, which is equally owned by the Royal Bank of Canada and Dexia, has been appointed by Toronto-based Cougar Global Investments to provide global custody services for its clients.

Cougar Global Investments offers investment advisory services to high net worth families, trusts and corporations throughout Canada, the US and Europe.

RBC Dexia is equally owned by RBC and Dexia, the Franco-Belgian financial services group; the company has $1.9 trillion in client assets under administration.

In recent months, the Bernard Madoff scandal has drawn attention to the responsibility of custody services and the question of whether they are doing enough to safeguard the financial assets of their clients.