Northern Trust has been mandated to fund administration and global custody services for Morningstar Investment Management’s new range of mutual funds.
The mandate will also include fund accounting and transfer agency for the Morningstar Funds Trust, which comprises nine sub-advised mutual funds.
“Northern Trust’s global technology platform and mutual fund expertise make it an excellent mutual fund service provider to support our new funds,” said Daniel Needham, president and chief investment officer of Morningstar Investment Management, the investment adviser to Morningstar Funds Trust.
“Our strong relationship with Northern Trust allows us to focus on our active, multi-manager investment strategies while providing exceptional client service to our investors.”
Morningstar Investment Management already uses Northern Trust’s global custody and fund administration services for its $201 billion assets under advisement and management across North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific.
“Through technology innovation and talent development, Northern Trust aims to deliver a more automated, client-centered service model to the US mutual fund market, and this appointment by a premier asset manager confirms our progress toward that goal,” said Dan Houlihan, head of Northern Trust Global Fund Services in North America.
Providing technology solutions for incoming regulatory requirements has been a focus for Northern Trust’s mutual fund administration strategy.
Last year it partnered with Donnelley Financial Solutions, a technology and reporting provider, to increase the automation of mutual fund data reporting, and in 2016 it enhanced its payments and reconciliations process through a new tool provided by Broadridge.