Pension Protection Fund Appoints Northern Trust for GB£20 Billion Mandate

The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) 'the UK's pension lifeboat fund', has appointed Northern Trust (Nasdaq: NTRS) to provide global custody, securities lending, collateral management and performance measurement services for its GB£20 billion (approximately US$31 billion) in pension assets.

The PPF offers compensation to eligible members of defined benefit schemes if their employer does not have sufficient assets to payout. It now has over 200,000 members and gives comfort to around 11 million people in the UK who belong to over 6,000 defined benefits schemes. It is a highly sophisticated asset owner, deploying multiple asset managers and investing across the full spectrum of asset classes.

"We appointed Northern Trust based on their proven expertise in supporting some of the most advanced pension funds in the UK and Continental Europe,” said Andy McKinnon, chief financial officer, PPF. "As our assets continue to grow we look forward to working with Northern Trust as they deliver innovative solutions to support our evolving requirements.”

This latest appointment reinforces Northern Trust’s leadership position in the UK pension fund market, where it now provides services to five of the top 10 pension funds in the UK, together representing more than GB£240 billion in assets and approximately one fifth of the entire UK pensions market.

"We are proud to have been appointed by PPF as they evolve in terms of scale and sophistication,” said Penelope Biggs, head of Northern Trust’s Institutional Investor Group in Europe, Middle East and Africa. "The retirement market in the UK faces dramatic change, particularly around defined benefit schemes, and our expertise and proven track record positions us to support the PPF with flexible and creative solutions tailored to their specific needs.”

Northern Trust offers an extensive range of services to pension funds across the globe. It currently provides solutions to 31 percent of the top 100 UK pension schemes, and 37 percent of the total local government pension scheme market in the UK.

About Northern Trust

Northern Trust Corporation (Nasdaq: NTRS) is a leading provider of asset servicing, fund administration, asset management, fiduciary, and banking solutions for corporations, institutions, families, and individuals worldwide. Chicago-based Northern Trust has offices in 19 states, Washington, D.C., and 20 international locations in Canada, Europe, the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region. As of December 31, 2014, Northern Trust had assets under custody of US$6 trillion, and assets under investment management of US$934.1 billion. For 125 years, Northern Trust has earned distinction as an industry leader in combining exceptional service and expertise with innovative products and technology. For more information, visit www.northerntrust.com and follow us on Twitter @NorthernTrust.

Northern Trust Corporation, Head Office: 50 South La Salle Street, Chicago, Illinois 60603 U.S.A., incorporated with limited liability in the U.S. Global legal and regulatory information can be found at http://www.northerntrust.com/disclosures