Northern Trust Offers Multi-manager Target-Date Funds

The Northern Trust Multi-Manager Target Date Funds combine non-proprietary active managers and what the firm says is cost-effective index management in an asset allocation process that seeks to provide participants with broad, diversified asset class exposure. “By carefully selecting a group of independent, specialized investment advisers with complementary styles and disciplines, closely monitoring the results and making changes when appropriate, the Northern Trust Multi-Manager Target Date Funds seek to achieve returns above those of a relevant benchmark with attractive risk characteristics,” said Andrew Smith, chief investment officer of Northern Trust Global Advisors (NTGA), the multi-manager subsidiary of Northern Trust, in a press release.

The Northern Trust Multi-Manager Target Date Funds are offered in 10-year increments, with retirement dates beginning in 2010, and include the NT Multi-Manager Income fund, for current retirees.

Northern Trust said in the announcement that because fixed income is included in every stage of investment, its glidepath meets the U.S. Department of Labor’s diversification requirements for Qualified Default Investment Alternatives (QDIA) for retirement plans. Inflationary hedge allocations, including global real estate, commodities, and U.S. Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS), are also included in the asset allocation glidepath, according to the announcement.