Northern Trust announced it will provide Integrated Trading Solutions, including outsourced trading and middle office functionality, for a domestic equity portfolio managed internally by the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF), the state’s second-largest public retirement plan.
Northern Trust’s outsourced trading capability combines worldwide trading expertise in equities and fixed income with access to global markets, multiple trading locations, high-quality liquidity and an integrated middle and back office service.
“Through Integrated Trading Solutions, we provide global trade execution, matching, and transaction cost analysis reporting that supports IMRF’s commitment to delivering quality and cost-efficiency,” said Grant Johnsey, Head of Institutional Sales and Trading, Northern Trust Securities, Inc. “Our trade execution solution is helping the IMRF team free-up resources, while allowing them to exercise the high levels of oversight and governance that they and their participants demand.”
“We have a long-standing relationship with Northern Trust and appreciate the level of service and expertise they provide to us,” said Dhvani Shah, Chief Investment Officer at IMRF. “IMRF works with Northern Trust in other capacities and views the ITS platform as an addition to an already well-functioning relationship between our organizations.”
Michael Lowery, Quantitative Equity Trader at IMRF, added: “IMRF views Northern Trust ITS as an extension of its own internal trading function that will benefit from industry experience, transaction cost analysis (TCA) and transparency into the execution process. As an agency broker, Northern Trust’s interests are aligned with IMRF in achieving best execution while meeting our minority brokerage goals.”
Northern Trust and IMRF have a more than 30-year relationship. Northern Trust provides global custody, securities lending, valuation support, compliance analysis, banking, treasury services, investment management and now Integrated Trading Solutions to the $44 billion Fund.
In support of its clients, Northern Trust continually innovates and invests in technology, delivering a differentiated approach to trading that includes Integrated Trading Solutions, offered through Northern Trust Securities, Inc. Northern Trust Securities, Inc. is a part of Northern Trust Capital Markets which also provides foreign exchange, securities lending and transition management services.
