Nest appoints Northern Trust as Fund Administrator and Custodian

Northern Trust has been appointed by Nest as the new fund administrator, helping the pension scheme coordinate its investments across its diversified portfolio.

Through the newly awarded contract, Northern Trust will provide key services for Nest’s investment strategy, including custody, asset allocation and rebalancing, and performance measurement.

The new partnership will oversee substantial growth in Nest, with the scheme forecast to pass £100bn AUM in 2030. This contract is therefore of significant importance to the continued success of Nest.

Statement from Mark Fawcett, CEO of Nest Invest:

"Nest is at an exciting point in our journey. Within the coming years, we’ll likely be the largest UK pension scheme by both AUM size and membership. We’ve needed to consider how we manage that growth to ensure we continue delivering a world-class service for our 13 million members.

"The fund administrator is one of our most important contracts. It provides the platform to manage our growth across our highly diversified portfolio, including enhancing the member journey across our range of funds as we implement our private markets program.

"Northern Trust really impressed us in what was a competitive procurement. We have specific requirements for asset allocation and rebalancing, and their capability to manage sophisticated strategies is particularly strong. The flexibility they can offer, to evolve the services we need around our future growth, will be crucial.”

Statement from Ian Hamilton, Head of Asset Owners, UK at Northern Trust:

"We are proud that Nest have selected Northern Trust as their asset servicing partner to support their evolving needs as they deliver on their long-term strategic growth strategy. This mandate is testament to Northern Trust’s track record in supporting complex asset owners deliver transformative change and we are thrilled to partner with the UK’s largest Defined Contribution Master Trust and a leading innovator in the pension sector.”

Statement from James Wright, Head of Asset Owners, Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) at Northern Trust:

"Our appointment by Nest underscores Northern Trust’s unwavering commitment to the retirement sector, and cements our leadership position in supporting the increasingly sophisticated needs of asset owners in the UK and across the EMEA region. A leading asset servicing provider to pension schemes around the globe, we are delighted to be partnering with Nest at an important inflection point in the evolution of their business.”

Notes to editors

The current fund administrator contract expires in October 2025. Nest will work with Northern Trust to ensure all key services are transferred across ahead of this date, giving Nest time to test the transition has been successful.

Services included within the contract:

• Custody
• Asset allocation and rebalancing
• Performance measurement
• Compliance monitoring
• Investment Tax
• Securities lending
• Securities class actions
• Financial accounting and reporting
• Data management (platform)

About Nest

Nest was set up to ensure every UK employer could offer a workplace pension to their employees. Since then, it’s grown to become the largest workplace pension scheme in the country with 13 million members and is set to be the largest by AUM - by the end of the decade Nest is expected to have around £100bn assets under management.

Nest wants to deliver the best retirement income for its members, and has in place an award-winning investment strategy with one of the most diversified DC portfolios in the UK. It continues to expand its investable universe, including into private markets which have typically been out of reach for the average UK worker.

About Northern Trust

Northern Trust Corporation (Nasdaq: NTRS) is a leading provider of wealth management, asset servicing, asset management and banking to corporations, institutions, affluent families and individuals. Founded in Chicago in 1889, Northern Trust has a global presence with 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, 2024, Northern Trust had assets under custody/administration of US$16.5 trillion, and assets under management of US$1.5 trillion. For more than 130 years, Northern Trust has earned distinction as an industry leader for exceptional service, financial expertise, integrity and innovation. Visit us on northerntrust.com. Follow us on X (formerly Twitter) @NorthernTrust or Northern Trust Corporation on LinkedIn.

Northern Trust Corporation, Head Office: 50 South La Salle Street, Chicago, Illinois 60603 U.S.A., incorporated with limited liability in the U.S. Global legal and regulatory information can be found at https://www.northerntrust.com/terms-and-conditions.

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