Sydney-based asset manager First Sentier Investors (FSI) has appointed Northern Trust to provide middle-office outsourcing services, following a tender process.

Comments FSI chief operating officer Rob Scott: “Northern Trust’s ability to provide a single global middle-office service utilizing a single scalable technology infrastructure were key factors in our decision. Northern Trust’s ability to support all our investment capabilities and products, across multiple global jurisdictions, was obviously critical. The cultural fit with FSI was also a factor in the decision-making process. This has already played an important role in the partnership as we have transitioned on to Northern Trust’s service model.”

Angelo Calvitto, Northern Trust country executive, Australia, notes that outsourcing services allow investment managers to focus on their core business of investment decision-making and asset allocation.

With clients across Australia, Asia, Europe and North America, FSI manages more than A$200 billion (US$156 billion) invested across equities, cash and fixed income, infrastructure and multi-asset solutions, as at September 30 2020.

Northern Trust is a full-service provider to the Australian and New Zealand market and delivers a range of solutions for institutional fund clients, including Australian investment accounting and tax, unit registry services, investment operations outsourcing, and specialized custody solutions.