The Northern Pool to Partner with Northern Trust for £46bn Mandate

The Northern Pool has appointed Northern Trust (Nasdaq: NTRS), subject to contract, to provide a broad range of custodial and administration services, including securities lending, private equity fund administration, compliance monitoring and carbon reporting.

The appointment follows a very competitive process which was supported by the global post-trade risk and custody specialists, Thomas Murray.

The newly-created pool, comprising Greater Manchester Pension Fund, West Yorkshire Pension Fund and Merseyside Pension Fund, is one of the largest of eight local government pension pools in the UK, and has £46bn (approx. $65.8bn) of assets under management.

As the Northern Pool implements its operating infrastructure, this appointment underlines its commitment to ensuring the highest levels of asset safety, governance and transparency in reporting, and includes specialist private equity fund administration solutions for its allocation to alternative assets.

"Northern Trust is delighted to support the Northern Pool with a range of services, including reporting solutions to meet their requirements for heightened investment governance and transparency over investments,” said James Wright, head of Northern Trust’s Institutional Investor Group, for the UK, Middle East and Africa. "We are excited to be working alongside them to deliver tailored solutions that match the scale of their ambitions.”

Northern Trust is a leading private equity fund administrator and recently expanded its capabilities in the UK, responding to increasing client allocations to this asset class. It is also a leading asset servicing provider of alternative investments more broadly, servicing more than US$1 trillion of assets worldwide on behalf of leading asset managers and asset owners.

Ian Greenwood, chair of the Northern Pool, said: "We appointed Northern Trust based on their proven experience in the UK pensions market and their ability to offer us a range of holistic reporting, custody and alternative administration solutions, in accordance with the government’s requirements of putting the highest and most expedient levels of regulation and asset safety at the heart of the Northern Pool.

"Their collaborative approach and willingness to support our evolving requirements with bespoke solutions were key factors in their appointment.”

Northern Trust has an ongoing commitment to pension schemes, with clients including some of the UK’s largest and most sophisticated investors. It offers an extensive range of services to UK schemes, from assisting with their challenges around risk, regulation, transparency and governance, to meeting requirements for heightened investment oversight and control through data aggregation and book of record solutions.

About The Northern Pool

The Northern Pool is one of Britain’s largest public investment funds. It has been formed from the combined assets of the Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire and Merseyside local government pension scheme (LGPS) funds, and represents about a fifth of total LPGS assets with £46bn of funds under management.

About Thomas Murray

TM is a unique provider of insights into the various risks to which investors are exposed through their arrangements with global custodians and depositary banks, and their subsequent network exposures to sub-custodians, capital market infrastructures and central securities depositories. Founded in 1994, TM has offices in the UK (London - its headquarters), Australia (Melbourne) and Canada (Toronto), and it also has representation in New York. www.thomasmurray.com

About Northern Trust

Northern Trust Corporation (Nasdaq: NTRS) is a leading provider of wealth management, asset servicing, asset management and banking to corporations, institutions, affluent families and individuals. Founded in Chicago in 1889, Northern Trust has offices in the United States in 19 states and Washington, D.C., and 23 international locations in Canada, Europe, the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region. As of March 31, 2018, Northern Trust had assets under custody/administration of US$10.8 trillion, and assets under management of US$1.2 trillion. For more than 125 years, Northern Trust has earned distinction as an industry leader for exceptional service, financial expertise, integrity and innovation. Visit northerntrust.com or 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 https://www.northerntrust.com/disclosures.

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