Northern Trust has been awarded a EUR7.5 billion (approximately US$9 billion) global custody mandate by the Dutch travel and transport industry pension fund, Stitching Bedrijfstakpensioenfonds voor het Bero epsvervoer over de weg (Vervoer) and its related funds.
The Chicago-based global custodian will supply Vervoer with global custody, compliance monitoring, performance measurement, commission recapture and securities lending. We are very pleased with the selection of Northern Trust as master custodian, after a thorough and prudent selection process, which involved our Chief Investment Officer, Patrick Groenendijk, and our consultants, Goris & Partners,” says Hans Van der Klink, the interim Managing Director of the Vervoer funds. “We are beginning a full reorientation of the way the assets and liabilities of the Fund are managed, and Northern Trust’s appointment is the first major step in this activity.”
Van der Klink, who is an associate with consultants Boer & Croon in The Netherlands, added that Vervoer has established a small Executive Office (Bestuursbureau) in conjunction with a fiduciary asset management model. He says this will be “at the core of the new structure. We feel that our model could well become an example of best governance practice for smaller and medium sized pension funds in the Netherlands.”
Eric Pouwels, asset servicing business development manager for the Netherlands at Northern Trust, says Northern Trust is “delighted to have been chosen by Vervoer to provide the critical services it requires in order to effect these important changes. The Netherlands has a sophisticated and dynamic pensions environment, and Northern Trust continues to develop new, and enhance our existing, solutions to meet the challenges of this demanding market.”