Maximizing the ROI from Your Custodian Partner

The London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) is the benchmark interest rate at which major global banks lend to each other.

Many financial markets currently rely on Interbank Offered Rates (IBOR) as a basis for pricing and valuation of assets, trading positions, loans and other financial transactions, with LIBOR deeply ingrained in many processes and contracts. However, the UK regulator announced in 2017 that the industry needs to be prepared to move away from its reliance on LIBOR by the end of 2021.

With this in mind, Robert Angel and David Cahill of our Regulatory Solutions team recorded a webinar discussion in August on what the industry is indicating institutions should be doing to help ensure they are ready. They also discussed how Northern Trust is helping its clients prepare for the transition away from LIBOR.

On November 19th, Kim Evans, Head of our NA Private Capital Fund Services Group joined Shellye Archambeau for a discussion on setting and achieving ambitious goals. Shellye Archambeau is Silicon Valley’s first female African American CEO and recently published her new book 'Unapologetically Ambitious.'

Join Gary Paulin in conversation with Nick Pratt as they explore the trends that have driven the rapid adoption of outsourced trading, the role of COVID-19 in accelerating the impact of these trends and the signs that a ‘fourth wave’ of adoption is approaching.

Outsourced trading – are you in the 15% getting left behind?

What some initially treated as simply a cost-efficiency exercise has rapidly evolved and the outsourced trading model now resembles an optimal state offering diverse benefits in terms of efficiency, operational resiliency, governance and managing technological complexity. In a recent survey, 85% of 300 global asset managers responded that they have already outsourced their trading desk or are interested in doing so in the future.

In this webinar, Northern Trust Capital Market’s global head of Integrated Trading Solutions, Gary Paulin, will explore:

•How firms – large and small – have come to see outsourced trading as a better way of doing things

•Outsourced trading’s role as a proactive response to margin pressure, a way to de-risk and streamline operations and, critically, as a way to enhance governance and operational resiliency

•The rising interest in data analytics to scrutinize manager skill and decision making in pursuit of greater efficiencies that might be a first hint of a new ‘fourth wave’ of outsourcing

•What firms must do to avoid missing the future

As the imminent threat of cyber-attacks on your business grows, it is now more important than ever to stay informed on the latest security trends and to be aware of best practices to defend against an attack. Join Northern Trust’s Digital Risk Officer, Steve Locke, as he discusses the evolving cyber landscape, threats to look out for, and how emerging technologies can help combat cyber-attacks.

In the first of a series of webinars, we look at the impact of COVID-19 on financial markets and how it is driving a review of operating models across the industry. Does the reaction of market participants, particularly in the front office, show potential for lasting changes in governance and market interaction?

This webinar will focus on the upcoming changes in the regulatory framework in Switzerland, and we will examine what this means for your distribution strategy and sales force.

Listen to Northern Trust and external experts as they make sense of the implications of posting initial margin on derivatives transactions, outline steps to take to meet compliance, explain how to ensure legal documentation is fit for purpose and address the key operational issues. The focus will be on those buy-side firms impacted in Phase 5, on 1 September 2020.

Speakers include:
Jean White, Senior Consultant Regulatory Solutions, Northern Trust
John Southgate, Head of Derivatives and Collateral Product, EMEA, Northern Trust
Jud Baker, Head of Derivatives and Collateral Product, Northern Trust.
Michael Beaton, Director DRS
John Boyle, Senior Manager, Financial Services Advisory, EY

2019 has continued with the funds industry facing unprecedented pressures – with economic, commercial and regulatory factors calling into question some existing operating models. Whilst these stresses present a challenge – when it comes to the trading desk, outsourcing is beginning to be seen as an increasingly compelling opportunity. Is it time for asset managers to re-evaluate outsourced trading solutions?

Join expert Connie Lindsey, Head of Corporate Social Responsibility and Global Diversity & Inclusion at Northern Trust, as she leads a discussion around progressing talent recruitment, retention and managing to improve diversity and inclusion in the financial industry. Rethink industry hiring practices and explore how diversifying the workplace reshapes opportunity. Listen to panelist Dan Houlihan, Head of Asset Servicing for North America, and Jim Fitzpatrick, President of NICSA, as they share more information about The Diversity Project North America, an organization dedicated to a more inclusive workforce culture.

As institutional investors /pension schemes boost their exposure to alternative assets at transformational levels, they are exploring a variety of ways to access the investments. An evolving approach is to venture beyond the investor role by entering the realm of the asset manager and establishing their own investment vehicles.
This can offer advantages such as full alignment to their requirements and greater control. Yet it also requires a high level of in-house expertise and operational considerations.

The webcast will:

• Examine the drivers and challenges for investment in alternative assets
• Explore the changing relationship between ‘LPs’ and ‘GPs’
• Outline key considerations for direct investment

Presented by:
- Mark Austin, Head of UK Institutional Investor Group, Northern Trust
- Stuart Lawson, Senior Product Manager, Alternatives, Northern Trust
- James Alexander, UK Wealth and Asset Management at Accenture

Moderated by:
- Brendan Maton, IPE

Enterprise blockchain has been touted as the "next big thing" for blockchain. However, implementing a new and often complex technology into a larger organisation has a number of obstacles that stand in the way of successful adoption and implementation.

Join this session where a panel of experts will discuss:
-The main challenges with implementation and how to overcome them
-Moving from POC to pilot
-Tackling security concerns
-Private, public, and hybrid blockchains
-Industry-specific examples

AI has the power to focus the volume of data in financial services. AI and machine learning tools can provide automated insights and analytics, giving asset owners and asset managers the ability to increase operational productivity, improve cybersecurity, and manage risk, among other benefits.

Watch our latest AI webinar to learn about the current AI landscape, how AI in used in financial services, and the future state and what is to come with AI.

Experts from the Technical Accounting Consulting team at Northern Trust discuss recent pronouncements (GASB 89, 88, 87), implementation guidance (Guides No. 2018-1 and 2017-3) and current GASB projects.

How blockchain, AI and other technology has impacted the financial services industry and what else is to come.

Ryan Ross speaks w/ Northern Trust's Anthony Stevens about how they are thinking about Blockchain, including seeking the right use case before creating a product, how users experience blockchain, why a distributed ledger was the product that fit a need, and how banks are working with regulatory bodies to streamline the industry, and how regulations will shape the industry.

Pension investment costs and charges: Towards greater transparency

Trustees and pension fund executives increasingly need to understand the full cost of managing their investments to enable them to determine if they are receiving value for money. Yet many find it difficult to obtain the information required to complete this analysis. As pension investment costs and charges come increasingly to the fore of industry debate, this webcast will provide ideas for those seeking to gain deeper insight into schemes’ investment costs and charges.

The webcast will:

• Discuss recent industry developments and initiatives aimed at encouraging greater transparency over investment costs
• Outline key areas that trustees can assess when hiring or changing their investment managers
• Highlight the costs associated with certain types of transactions and less commonly known investment-related activity

Presented by:
• Mark Austin, Head of UK Institutional Investor Group, Northern Trust
• Aaron Overy, Director of Business Development, Northern Trust Asset Management
• Sonia Gogna, Head of Large Client Solutions, Aon

Moderated by:
• Brendan Maton, IPE

Join Northern Trust’s Dan Houlihan, Head of Global Fund Services, North America, and Peter Sanchez, CEO of Global Hedge Fund Services, and learn how we are strategizing about technology decisions to optimize innovation. 

Managing Risk in the Age of Cyber Threats.

Reference: www.nist.gov

Practical Insights on the Rise of Transparency Considerations in Asset Allocation

Investor priorities have shifted since the 2008 financial crisis, but one trend is clear: transparency has become paramount.

As investor appetite for non-correlated assets grows apace, the volume and complexity of alternatives in their portfolios is burgeoning. In order to obtain a level of transparency similar to that available for their traditional long-only investments, they need to overcome the challenges of monitoring, valuing and reporting on this comparatively opaque and illiquid asset class.

The webcast will:

• Review the key findings from Northern Trust/Economist Intelligence Unit’s recent survey of 200 asset managers and institutional investors on the rise of transparency considerations in asset allocation
• Share examples of how investors and managers are managing these considerations
• Explore the role of data in the management process and discuss who ultimately takes responsibility for transparency

Presented by:
• Mark Austin, Head of UK Institutional Investor Group at Northern Trust
• Stuart Lawson, Alternatives Global Product Manager at Northern Trust
• Hamish Mair BSc, MBA, ASIP, Director and Head of Private Equity, BMO Global Asset Management

Moderator:
• Brendan Maton, IPE