Northern Trust unveils sustainable real estate index and fund
Asset manager Northern Trust has unveiled a sustainable real estate index and fund in conjunction with the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB). The index, available exclusively to Northern Trust Asset Management investors, was created to provide a passive approach to real estate investment that takes into account environment, social and governance (ESG) factors. The index will passively manage a new Dutch-based pooled fund that was also launched. The GRESB offers sustainable real estate assessment, which Northern Trust will use for its passive investors’ returns from their global assets.

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LONDON and AMSTERDAM, 19 January, 2017 – Northern Trust Asset Management, collaborating with GRESB, the global sustainability benchmark for real assets, has launched a unique sustainable real estate index. A Dutch-domiciled pooled fund passively managed to this new index has also been launched.

The industry-first index is exclusively available to investors using Northern Trust Asset Management vehicles and has been developed in response to demand for a passive approach to real estate investing incorporating environment, social and governance (ESG) factors.

“Northern Trust listens to investors and develops solutions to meet their evolving needs. We are delighted to collaborate with GRESB to create this ground breaking index and to launch a fund which tracks the index. This enables passive investors to benefit from the long-term returns associated with listed real estate companies, whilst incorporating sustainable investing principles,” said Hazel McNeilage, managing director for Europe, Middle East and Africa at Northern Trust Asset Management.

GRESB is a Netherlands-based investor-driven organization and a leader in the field of sustainable real estate assessment. It is committed to assessing the ESG performance of real assets globally, including real estate portfolios and infrastructure assets. GRESB uses more than 40 specific indicators across seven aspects of sustainability to assess real estate companies.

“The environmental performance of buildings has been shown to have a clear link with the underlying financial performance of the assets, and with the risk return profile of property companies or investment funds ultimately owning the assets,” said Sander Paul van Tongeren, managing director of GRESB. “This new fund will, uniquely, allow investors to passively gain exposure to companies that are highly transparent about their ESG performance and reducing environmental and social impact while also incorporating broad geographic and sector diversification.”

“The use of GRESB’s ESG data further institutionalizes the important role of environmental, social and governance information in the financial market,” he added.

“Northern Trust has long been a pioneer of environmental, social and governance investing, and this first-of-its-kind index fund underlines our approach to identifying ways to continue to innovate and offer our clients market-leading solutions that support their risk return profile and meet their responsible investing needs,” said Mamadou-Abou Sarr, global head of ESG investing at Northern Trust Asset Management.

Northern Trust Asset Management offers its clients a broad range of investment management capabilities, across equities, fixed interest and cash management. This includes Engineered Equity, Northern Trust’s approach to factor-based investing and strategies incorporating ESG principles, as well as more traditional index management. Capabilities are available through both commingled funds and segregated accounts, with a focus on designing investment strategies to meet the individual needs of investors.

Northern Trust is a leading global asset management firm serving institutional and individual investors in 29 countries, with $946 billion in assets under management as of September 30, 2016. Northern Trust Asset Management’s robust investment capabilities span all markets and asset classes, from passive and risk-factor to fundamental active and multi-manager strategies, delivered in multiple vehicles. For more information, please visit our website or follow us on Twitter @NTInvest.

Northern Trust Asset Management is composed of Northern Trust Investments, Inc., Northern Trust Global Investments Limited, 50 South Capital Advisors, LLC, Northern Trust Global Investments Japan, K.K., NT Global Advisors, Inc. and investment personnel of The Northern Trust Company of Hong Kong Limited and The Northern Trust Company.

About Northern Trust

Northern Trust Corporation (Nasdaq: NTRS) is a leading provider of wealth management, asset servicing, asset management and banking to corporations, institutions, affluent families and individuals. Founded in Chicago in 1889, Northern Trust has offices in the United States in 19 states and Washington, D.C., and 22 international locations in Canada, Europe, the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region. As of September 30, 2016 Northern Trust had assets under custody of US$6.7 trillion, and assets under management of US$946 billion. For more than 125 years, Northern Trust has earned distinction as an industry leader for exceptional service, financial expertise, integrity and innovation. Visit northerntrust.com or follow us on Twitter @NorthernTrust.

© 2017 Northern Trust Corporation. Head Office: 50 South La Salle Street, Chicago, Illinois 60603 U.S.A. Incorporated with limited liability in the U.S. Products and services provided by subsidiaries of Northern Trust Corporation may vary in different markets and are offered in accordance with local regulation. For legal and regulatory information about individual market offices, visit northerntrust.com/disclosures.

About GRESB

GRESB is an investor-driven organization that is transforming the way we assess the environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance of real assets globally, including real estate portfolios and infrastructure assets.

More than 200 members, of which about 50 are pension funds and their fiduciaries, use the GRESB data in their investment management and engagement process, with a clear goal to optimize the risk/return profile of their investments.

GRESB has assessed more than 1,000 property companies and funds, jointly representing more than USD 3 trillion in assets under management, as well as almost 200 infrastructure assets and funds.

The global property and infrastructure sectors are at the heart of the most important and far-reaching issues of our time, including urbanization, demographic change, resource constraints, environmental impacts and emerging technologies.

For more information, contact:

Northern Trust Europe, Middle East, Africa & Asia-Pacific:

Camilla Greene

+44 (0) 207 982 2176

[email protected]

Huijskens Bickerton on behalf of Northern Trust:

Ian Bickerton

+31 (0) 20 6855955

[email protected]

GRESB:

Sacha van Tuijn

+31 (0) 2077 40220

[email protected]