Recognizing the growth of digital markets alongside the continued “evolution” of the traditional securities services marketplace, Northern Trust (Nasdaq: NTRS) recently announced the formation of its Digital Assets and Financial Markets group, which will be led by Justin Chapman who “currently is global head of Market Advocacy Innovation and Research.”
The new group “combines the teams responsible for supporting the fast-growing digital asset markets and those dedicated to providing market access and insights across the traditional securities services markets.”
Pete Cherecwich, president of Asset Servicing at Northern Trust, said:
“Clients are increasingly interested in the development of digital markets and investing in digital assets, alongside allocations to more traditional asset classes such as equities, fixed income, alternatives and private assets. Rather than create separate business lines, by aligning our focus on digital and traditional markets together, we can continue to develop services and capabilities that truly reflect and enable our clients’ evolving investment strategies.”
Chapman added:
“Traditional and digital markets already co-exist and the boundaries between the two will only continue to blur over time. At the same time as more institutional investors are entering the digital arena, the rest of the securities industry is also facing an unprecedented amount of change arising from new regulation, market evolution and the development of emerging technology capabilities. For investors wishing to navigate this environment, our new combined group will provide access to market-leading expertise, industry insights and continued innovations across all markets and all asset classes.”
Northern Trust claims it has been “a leading innovator in the digital transformation of securities servicing.”
From pioneering the use of blockchain/DLT in private equity fund administration in 2017 “to support for the tokenization and fractionalization of bonds in 2020 and partnering in the launch of institutional-grade crypto asset custodian Zodia Custody in 2021.”
As noted in the update, Northern Trust Corporation is “a 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 22 U.S. states and Washington, D.C., and across 23 locations in Canada, Europe, the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region.”
As of March 31, 2022, Northern Trust “had assets under custody/administration of US$15.5 trillion, and assets under management of US$1.5 trillion.”
