Northern Trust Enhances Delivery Of Risk And Performance Data For Institutional And Wealth Clients

To help institutional and wealth clients oversee large, sophisticated investment portfolios, Northern Trust has added peer universe comparisons to the range of risk and performance information available through Northern Trust Data Direct, which streams a variety of data into customizable Microsoft Excel® reports.

Increased flexibility within Data Direct allows clients to compare their performance with more than 75 universes in the Northern Trust Investment Risk & Analytical Services (IRAS) database, spanning Foundations and Endowments, Corporate Pensions, Public Funds and Wealth Management plans in North America. Clients can customize comparisons at the plan level or for different investment programs and accounts.

“The introduction of peer universe information to Data Direct aligns with our strategic goal of providing access to information that meets the analytical needs of institutional clients,” said Paul d’Ouville, Global Head of Product Management of Northern Trust. “The best information in the world is useless if clients cannot access it whenever, wherever and however they need it. Data Direct is a popular solution for clients that want to integrate Northern Trust’s analytical content within their own reporting structure. Within these reports, clients can access a breadth of information, including performance, risk- and return-based analysis, ex-post and ex-ante risk statistics, characteristics, attribution detail, and hedged currency analysis.”

Northern Trust Data Direct is an interactive Microsoft Excel plug-in program that uses web services to retrieve information from various Northern Trust databases. The application offers users streamlined access to their data by automating the flow of information to Excel workbooks through intuitive query definitions. Data Direct assists clients in automating everyday Excel workbooks around specific data needs by dynamically populating spreadsheets on demand.

Since the inaugural release of Data Direct in October 2010, Northern Trust has extended Data Direct coverage to include:

• Internal Rates of Return – Helps clients understand how the timing of cash flows in private equity and other funds affects the overall performance of their managers or their investment program.
• Hedged Currency Returns – Assists clients with their analysis of currency hedging on their portfolio.
• Contribution Reporting – Details the impact of individual securities, sectors, countries or regions on overall portfolio returns.
• Duration Adjusted Exposure – Allows clients to view their exposure on a duration adjusted basis as a measure of interest rate sensitivity.
• Holdings Based Analysis – Provides detailed performance based analysis on individually managed accounts and consolidations.

“The rapid extension of new content introduced in Data Direct exemplifies Northern Trust’s commitment to expand our technology to deliver essential data that drives our clients’ investment decisions,” said Craig Tome, Senior Product Developer at Northern Trust. “Recent consolidation of our calculation platform provides improved scalability across multiple reporting vehicles thereby expanding opportunities to deliver enhanced content within our reporting applications.”

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