Northern Trust (Nasdaq: NTRS) has been awarded a 4.6 billion (about $7.5 billion) mandate, which encompasses both pension fund and treasury assets, to provide global custody, securities lending, transition management, investment risk and analytical services, cash and foreign exchange services to Lancashire County Council.
Northern Trust will act as our single book of record across our pension fund and treasury assets, which is very attractive to us especially given the mix of investments we use, the different analysis needed and the overall reporting requirements we have, says Mike Jensen, head of pensions and treasury at Lancashire County Council.
In 2010, Northern Trust added $10 billion in AuC with UK local government pension schemes.
Douglas Gee, institutional business development manager for asset servicing at Northern Trust, adds: Local government pension schemes are operating within an ever-changing regulatory, economic and investment environment, and face particular opportunities and challenges. We are able to support these clients not only through the products and services we offer, but also through our Retirement Solutions Practice, which provides insights into the complexities of the regulatory landscape. The local government pension scheme sector in the United Kingdom is a key segment, in which Northern Trust has a great deal of expertise, stretching back many years. We work with 37 percent of UK local government pension schemes, and we are delighted to now be able to name Lancashire County Council amongst our clients.
Lancashire County Council was advised by consultants, Thomas Murray and follows other local government pension scheme wins announced by Northern Trust this year. These include the 3.2 billion (about $5 billion) Lothian Pension Fund, the 1.2 billion (about $2 billion) Dyfed Pension Fund and the 739 million (about $1.2 billion) London Borough of Wandsworth.
(CM)