Northern Trust consolidates 39 ETFs under one brand

Northern Trust Asset Management has rebranded its full ETF lineup as Northern Trust ETFs, bringing 27 FlexShares funds together with 12 Northern Trust ETFs launched over the past year onto a single platform. The firm said the change does not affect the funds’ investment objectives, portfolio managers, ticker symbols or investment processes.

The firm noted that the unified brand is intended to link the ETF lineup more directly to Northern Trust Asset Management’s investment capabilities and the broader Northern Trust name, and to provide a consistent experience for investors and financial advisors across its products.

Michael Hunstad, president of Northern Trust Asset Management, commented that ETFs are an important channel for delivering the firm’s investment expertise to a broad range of investors and described bringing the full lineup together under one brand as a milestone for the platform as it expands product offerings and solutions designed for client needs.

Dave Abner, global head of ETFs and funds, said the firm plans to develop ETF solutions that meet current investor and advisor requirements and anticipate future portfolio construction, and added that the ETFs draw on Northern Trust’s history of creating customized solutions for sophisticated investors while addressing key portfolio challenges.

Northern Trust emphasized the change is nominal and administrative: investors who hold or trade the affected ETFs will continue to see the same portfolio teams, strategies and ticker symbols. Fund operations and investment processes will remain unchanged.

FlexShares had been the ETF brand associated with a suite of funds managed by Northern Trust Asset Management. With the consolidation, all 39 ETFs now operate on the Northern Trust ETFs platform while keeping the same management and trading arrangements as before.