Northern Trust Creates Platform for Investment Managers to Launch Tax-Transparent Cross-Border UCITS Funds

CHICAGO and DUBLIN, June 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Northern Trust (Nasdaq: NTRS) announced today it has established the Northern Trust Common Contractual Fund as a platform that will allow investment managers to offer proprietary investment strategies in a cross-border fund vehicle designed to appeal to large institutional investors. The Northern Trust CCF is an Irish-domiciled UCITS fund, a vehicle established under the European Union's "Undertaking for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities" directive.

"This platform will help investment managers gain access to the European market through a UCITS fund that also protects the tax status of the underlying institutional investors," said Serge Boccassini, senior vice president, Global Asset Servicing Product and Strategy at Northern Trust. "Our new fund platform represents another cross-border pooling innovation by Northern Trust and provides an option for fund managers to distribute products to the institutional market on a cross-border basis in a timely and cost efficient manner."

Within the Northern Trust CCF, investment managers can establish sub-funds with distinct portfolios of assets, investment guidelines, fund features, and investors. Northern Trust will provide global custody, fund administration, investor-level tax services and management company services to the CCF and the underlying sub-funds.

As a vehicle that is recognized as tax-transparent in many investment markets and investor jurisdictions, the Northern Trust CCF may allow certain institutional investors to invest on a tax efficient basis, benefiting from treaty arrangements in place between their home jurisdiction and the country of investment, thereby reducing certain taxes on the sub-fund's investments when compared to non fiscally-transparent fund structures. Northern Trust is a proven innovator in this market and has tailored its global custody, trustee and fund administration processes to support tax-transparent funds, including CCFs, on an automated basis.

The first manager to utilize the platform is Axiom International Investors, L.L.C., of Greenwich, Conn., which will launch a sub-fund under a global equity mandate. Axiom Chief Operating Officer Bart Tesoriero said the firm will launch the sub-fund for several U.K. domiciled investors initially and expects to add investors from other markets as well.

"We are experiencing rising demand from institutional investors in the U.K. and Europe for our global equities strategy but have lacked an efficient commingled vehicle for distribution in these markets," said Mr. Tesoriero. "Northern Trust's cross-border solution allows us to offer this strategy in a regulated, commingled structure that is also tax-transparent. The UCITS fund is recognized as an investment vehicle of choice in Europe and a smart fund solution for sophisticated investors."

Northern Trust is a pioneer in cross-border pooling and was the first to fully support tax-transparent funds created to pool the assets of institutional investors with multiple tax rates, investing in multiple jurisdictions. As of December 31, 2009, Northern Trust administered a total of $158 billion in cross-border fund assets from offices in Guernsey, Ireland and Luxembourg.

The Northern Trust CCF and sub-funds will be supported through Northern Trust's Global Fund Services unit, which has been servicing investment manager and fund company clients for more than 30 years and has experience supporting a wide range of complex investment strategies. Northern Trust services more than 430 investment managers around the globe encompassing approximately 4,000 funds.

About Axiom International Investors, L.L.C.

Axiom International Investors, L.L.C. is a U.S. registered investment adviser formed on September 1, 1998.  A completely employee owned firm, Axiom advises strategies which include international, global, micro-cap and emerging market securities. As of March 31, 2010 it advises assets of approximately $12 billion for institutional clients, including corporate and public pension funds, university endowments, charitable foundations and high net worth individuals. Axiom seeks to consistently provide top-tier investment performance by investing in high quality growth companies throughout the world. The firm is headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut. For more information, visit www.axintl.com.

About Northern Trust

Northern Trust Corporation (Nasdaq: NTRS) is a leading provider of investment management, asset and fund administration, banking solutions and fiduciary services for corporations, institutions and affluent individuals worldwide. Northern Trust, a financial holding company based in Chicago, has offices in 18 U.S. states and 16 international locations in North America, Europe, the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region. As of March 31, 2010, Northern Trust had assets under custody of US$3.7 trillion, and assets under investment management of US$647.3 billion. For 120 years, Northern Trust has earned distinction as an industry leader in combining exceptional service and expertise with innovative products and technology. For more information, visit www.northerntrust.com.

The Northern Trust Company, London Branch (reg. no. BR001960),  Northern Trust Global Investments Limited (reg. no. 03929218) and Northern Trust Global Services Limited (reg. no. 04795756) are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.

The material within and any linked material accessed via this communication is directed to eligible counterparties and professional clients only and should not be distributed to or relied upon by retail investors. For Asia-Pacific markets, it is directed to institutional investors, expert investors and professional investors only and should not be relied upon by retail investors.

• Northern Trust (Guernsey) Limited, Northern Trust Fiduciary Services (Guernsey) Limited, Northern Trust Fiduciary Company (Guernsey) Limited and Northern Trust International Fund Administration Services (Guernsey) Limited are licensed by the Guernsey Financial Services Commission.
• Northern Trust International Fund Administrators (Jersey) Limited and Northern Trust Fiduciary Services (Jersey) Limited are regulated by the Jersey Financial Services Commission.
• Northern Trust International Fund Administration Services (Ireland) Limited and Northern Trust Fiduciary Services (Ireland) Limited are regulated by the Financial Regulator.
• Northern Trust Global Services Limited has a Netherlands Branch which is authorised and regulated in the Netherlands by De Nederlandsche Bank.
• Northern Trust Global Services Limited has a Luxembourg Branch which is authorised and regulated by the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF).
• Northern Trust Luxembourg Management Company S.A. is regulated by the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF).
• Northern Trust Global Services Limited operates in Abu Dhabi as a Representative Office, Licence number 13/238/2008 which is authorised and regulated by the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates.
• The Northern Trust Company operates in Canada as The Northern Trust Company, Canada Branch which is an authorized foreign bank branch under the Bank Act (Canada).  Trustee related services in Canada are provided by the wholly owned subsidiary The Northern Trust Company, Canada, an authorized trust company under the Trust & Loans Companies Act (Canada).  Deposits with The Northern Trust Company and its affiliates and subsidiaries are not insured by the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation.
• The Northern Trust Company operates in Australia as a foreign authorised deposit-taking institution (foreign ADI) and is regulated by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority.
• The Northern Trust Company of Hong Kong Limited is a securities company regulated by the Securities and Futures Commission.
• The Northern Trust Company has a Singapore Branch which is a foreign wholesale bank regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
• The Northern Trust Company operates in China as a Representative Office and is regulated by the China Banking Regulatory Commission.
• Northern Trust Global Investments Japan, K.K. is regulated by the Japan Financial Services Agency.
• Northern Trust Global Services Ltd (UK) Sweden Filial is Authorised by the Financial Services Authority and subject to regulation by the Finansinspektionen.

SOURCE Northern Trust Corporation