Mandate for UK Local Government Pension Pool includes Services to Support Governance and Transparency

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.