With its new line of exchange traded funds (ETFs), Northern Trust opted to stay true to their principles while traveling around the world.
Is it a sign that ETFs are slowly entering the mainstream and gaining acceptance as more than just a passing fad? An institution as old and well-known as Northern Trust entering the market could be a sign.
"We know who we are. We knew what we needed to bring to the market, something that was consistent with our notions of asset management overall," says Peter Ewing, the managing director of Northern Trust’s ETF group.
The first batch of funds, the first to track major foreign market indexes, were a year in the making. Ideas were kicked around as the world’s third-largest asset manager of institutional index-based assets felt it needed to seriously consider an ETF product line. In 2007, the management committee gave the go-ahead and they filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC).