Northern Trust has made an investment into Parilux Investment Technology, an investment data management provider as it looks to further its front-office capabilities.
The investment will allow Northern Trust to gain access to Parilux’s data management platform for institutional investor, providing data for the investment book of record (IBOR), accounting and risk analytics for alternative assets, as well as performance reporting and document management.
“This investment is a strategic partnership for Northern Trust and a sign of our commitment to technology innovation that enables investment transparency for global asset owners,” said Pete Cherecwich, president of corporate and institutional services, Northern Trust.
“Our goal is to simplify the lives of institutional investors by providing a shared digital and service platform that integrates data into one system, streamlines operations, enables smarter investment decisions and facilitates better communication and information sharing across teams.”
The Front Office Solutions division of Northern Trust will combine Parilux’s software with a proprietary and newly designed cloud-based web and mobile interface.
The custodian will also look to deliver new capabilities across data aggregation, data enhancement and data analytics to support informed decision making and investment execution.
The investment and roll-out of new services will be led by Melanie Pickett, who joined Northern Trust in 2017 from Emory Investment Management, one of the top 20 endowment investment programmes in the US.
“As asset owners engage in more complex, data-driven approaches to asset allocation, their operational needs and demands for high quality data have skyrocketed,” Pickett said.
“By providing a holistic, full-service solution that delivers a more comprehensive set of operational services and analytics, Front Office Solutions aims to empower in-house investment teams and support their important mission.”
The investment is the latest move by Northern Trust to expand its front-office capabilities. Last week, the bank launched an outsourcing trading service whereby it would take on buy-side trading functions, as well as combining its middle- and back-office services to the front-office.