Northern Trust Lands Major Middle Eastern Fund

By Tim Clark, Wall Street & Technology

The multi billion dollar Abu Dhabi Pensions & Benefits Retirement Fund has selected Northern Trust as its sole global custodian to provide investment risk and analytical services, including performance measurement and attribution analysis.The Fund was created in 2000 by the Abu Dhabi Government for national government, semi-government and private sector employees.

Northern Trust's long history in supporting pension funds on a global basis combined with its technological capabilities servicing the Middle East were key deciding factors in choosing the firm, according to Andrew Palmer, financial controller of the Fund.

"We began a thorough review of our custody arrangements in late 2003 and were impressed by the way Northern Trust worked with us flexibly to respond to our requirements during our rigorous due diligence process," said Palmer in a release.

As of June 30, 2006, Northern Trust had assets under custody of $3.2 trillion, and assets under investment management of $640 billion.