Assets under administration (AUAdmin) includes the value of all assets for which a firm is paid to provide administrative services such as custody, reporting, and fund accounting.  The firm is not engaged to manage or provide advisory services regarding the assets, so AUAdmin is exclusive of assets under management (AUM) and assets under advisement (AUA).  Some firms expand the term to emphasize their role as custodian in administering the assets, so they use the term assets under custody and administration (AuC/A), but this is neither universal nor required.

There is inconsistency in how firms use the term AUA. Some define this as assets under advisement, some as assets under administration, and others as a combination of both.  In general, when evaluating a firm’s claims about AUA, it is important to verify the firm’s definition of the term and calculation of its asset base.