New business from large corporate and public retirement plans has boosted Northern Trust’s defined contribution (DC) global assets under custody and administration past $1 trillion.
Northern Trust suggested the growth has come from companies and government entities focusing on retirement security for employees.
The Chicago-based bank has more than 140 global DC clients, with over $1.4 trillion in assets as of 31 March 2021.
Clients include 12 of the 50 largest US defined contribution plans as measured by total assets, as well as plans in Australia, the UK, and additional countries in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA).
Peter Lantero, head of US institutional investor group at Northern Trust, explains as it grows, the defined contribution retirement plan market becomes more complex.
“We can see this growing complexity with the SECURE Act 2.0 currently making its way through the US Congress, covering provisions such as auto-enrollment, multiple employer plans, and investing in collective investment trusts, to name a few,” Lantero explains.
He comments: “We’re committed to helping clients through a shifting environment with the support of our customised solutions, including plan pooling, liquidity services and DB/DC bundling, as well as expert guidance to meet the evolving needs of plan sponsors and participants.”
Serge Boccassini, senior vice president of product management at Northern Trust, cites: “Through participation and leadership at a global level, we aim to bring value to the industry and regulatory bodies to help to drive better solutions and enhance participant retirement outcomes.”
Northern Trust provides a range of services for defined contribution plans, including daily valuation, multi-manager unitisation, integration of DB and DC plan operations, and performance measurement.
Elsewhere, Northern Trust has entered into an agreement with Distributor Due Diligence (3D) to support its asset manager clients with key elements of how they oversee the distribution of their funds to investors.
