Northern Trust wants to offer asset managers flexible support to meet the preferences of their investors.
Custodian Northern Trust has made public its formal application for exemptive relief to offer exchange-traded fund (ETF) share classes “alongside existing mutual fund share classes for certain adviser series within its two sponsored series trusts: Advisers Investment Trust and Datum One Series Trust,” officials say
Filing for exemptive relief will help Northern Trust provide asset managers “with support and flexibility to meet the evolving preferences of their investors,” officials say. “By supporting both mutual funds and ETFs within the same trust structure, asset managers can pursue different fund formats while operating within an established regulatory and administrative environment.”
Selecting a trust structure is “a long-term operating decision for asset managers,” says Barbara Nelligan, head of service and strategy enablement, Global Fund Services, at Northern Trust, in a prepared statement. “This capability is intended to provide flexibility as asset managers assess how ETFs may fit into their broader distribution and product strategies, including the potential addition of ETF share classes to existing funds,” Nelligan says.
In addition to its sponsored series trusts, Northern Trust offers firms a suite of asset servicing solutions such as fund administration, global custody, investment operations outsourcing, and data solutions, officials say
Founded in Chicago in 1889, Northern Trust has offices in 24 U.S. states and Washington, D.C., and across 22 locations in Canada, Europe, the Middle East, and the Asia-Pacific region. As of March 31, 2026, Northern Trust had assets under custody/administration of US$18.6 trillion and assets under management of US$1.8 trillion.
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