KUWAIT — Northern Trust (Nasdaq: NTRS) today announced it has been appointed by Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development (AFESD) to provide a range of asset servicing solutions spanning global custody, financial reporting, securities finance, private equity administration, performance measurement and compliance monitoring.
AFESD, based in the State of Kuwait, is an Arab regional financial institution focused on funding economic and social development by financing public and private investment projects and providing grants and expertise to support education institutions, universities, professional and social associations. Projects financed by AFESD include infrastructures in electricity, communications and transportations.
“AFESD’s investment strategy continues to evolve against the backdrop of new markets and asset classes investment opportunities,” AFESD said in a statement. “It is important for us to have the data and insights to support our dynamic strategic asset allocations and decision-making processes, and on investment governance and reporting. Having a strategic partner like Northern Trust, with its global capabilities and a local team of experts on the ground that understands our needs and supports our approach, can help us navigate a complex and evolving landscape.”
“We are pleased to be supporting AFESD and its investment activities,” said Michael Slater, head of Middle East and Africa at Northern Trust. “Northern Trust has been developing and evolving our services and capabilities for Middle East clients for 35 years, and we see our offerings as an extension of our clients’ infrastructure, providing the foundational data and insights that support their evolving needs. We have expanded our local team with senior appointments to service and support our clients and be close to their business operations and are committed to continuing to recruit local talent as our business grows.”
Northern Trust began servicing clients in the Middle East in 1987. Today it has over 30 employees located across Riyadh and Abu Dhabi providing market coverage six days a week from Sunday to Friday, leveraging the support of the global organization. The firm provides a comprehensive range of solutions to a broad base of clients that include many of the largest inter-governmental/governmental organizations, asset managers and family offices in the region.
Northern Trust’s EMEA Asset Owners provides services to more than 330 clients with collectively more than $2.54 trillion (as of 31 March 2022) in assets under custody across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. It is focused on supporting the evolving front and back office needs of pension funds, insurance companies, non-for-profit organizations, central banks and sovereign wealth funds and other inter-governmental agencies across Europe, Middle East and Africa.