Northern Trust Awarded Two U.K. LGPS Contracts

Northern Trust has won two contracts under the National Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) Framework for global custody Services with Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire pension funds.

The custodian bank will provide global custody, investment accounting and securities lending for the funds’ collective £4 billion in pension fund assets. These wins mark the second appointment for Northern Trust under the National LGPS Framework. Most recently, it was appointed by Devon County Council pension funds to provide global custody and securities lending for the fund’s £3 billion in pension fund assets.

The framework is one of several frameworks being run by the National Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) Frameworks, a group of LGPS Funds collaborating to jointly undertake the procurement and due diligence to establish frameworks. The schemes under the National LGPS Frameworks banner include Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Norfolk, Suffolk and the London Boroughs of Croydon and Hackney.

The National LGPS Frameworks are a result of collaboration between a number of LGPS Funds, which has already produced National LGPS Frameworks for the procurement of Actuarial and Benefit Consultancy Services and Investment Consultancy Services.

Six custodians have contracts to provide services under a local government pension scheme framework for these services in the U.K.

The contracts were awarded to BNP Paribas Securities Services, BNY Mellon, HSBC Securities Services, J.P. Morgan, Northern Trust and State Street.

Any LGPS Fund can use the framework to procure global custody services matched to their own specific requirements.

The multi-user, multi-provider frameworks are open to all LGPS Funds nationally for the procurement of services from a range of qualified providers. The frameworks allow quicker and more efficient access to services by removing the need for each LGPS Fund to independently undertake a full European Union (OJEU) procurement, says National LGPS Frameworks. “They enable LGPS Funds to leverage better prices while crucially still supporting local decision making and service requirements,” says a press release from the LGPS.