Northern Trust (NTRS) Bank of America Financial Services Conference 2026 summary

Business overview and strategic positioning

• Asset management business manages $1.4 trillion, with a strong presence in both passive and active strategies, including alternatives and quantitative strategies.

• Global footprint with 16 physical locations and clients in multiple countries, serving insurance, pension, and sovereign wealth funds.

• Product development leverages wealth management expertise, enabling incubation and distribution across intermediary and institutional channels.

• Diverse product vehicles include mutual funds, CITs, ETFs, and custom SMAs, with top-three industry positions in several categories.

• Recent innovation includes tokenized share classes and expansion into new channels and asset classes.

Growth initiatives and product innovation

• Double-digit growth targeted in ETFs, alternatives, and custom SMAs, with significant new product launches in 2025 and more planned for 2026.

• 11 new ETFs launched in late 2025, including laddered fixed income products to meet specific client needs.

• Alternatives fundraising increased over 2.5x year-over-year, with strong performance and expanded intermediary presence.

• Custom SMA business gathered over $5 billion in assets last year, extending into new channels and long-short tax-advantaged strategies.

• First tokenized share class launched for a treasury-only fund, supporting collateral and liquidity needs.

Operational improvements and productivity

• Centralized COO function and One Northern Trust initiative drive productivity and growth by integrating best practices and breaking down silos.

• Planning process focuses on productivity KPIs rather than expense growth, enabling dynamic capital allocation.

• Major investments in technology infrastructure, with at least 50% of tech spend aimed at business growth and enablement.

• Productivity gains achieved through workforce optimization, vendor consolidation, and process automation, including AI adoption.

• AI deployed for document digitization, RFP response, coding, and internal process automation, with over 150 use cases identified.