LONDON, Nov. 2, 2009 (PR Newswire Europe) -- v>

- Specialist technology delivers accurate, timely and transparent information

As part of its overall strategy for growing and developing its alternative fund administration business, Northern Trust (Nasdaq: NTRS) is strengthening its real estate fund administration capabilities with a new specialist technology platform that will form the foundation of its world class service to real estate fund managers around the globe.

"Real estate managers and their investors need access to accurate, timely and transparent information across the spectrum of their real estate portfolio," said Sascha Calisan, real estate fund administration product manager at Northern Trust.

"Growing complexity of structures and investment techniques, combined with increasing focus on governance and risk controls, requires flexibility that only a bespoke solution can deliver. Northern Trust has made a strategic investment in technology that will enable us to better meet our clients' needs and those of their dynamic investor base."

The system, which will be rolled out in Europe initially and ultimately to clients located across the globe, will be fully integrated into Northern Trust's online client portal, Passport, enabling clients to access their cash positions, net asset values and all of the reporting information that they require. In addition, it will be linked seamlessly to other Northern Trust services such as banking, transfer agency, over-the-counter (OTC) derivative processing, foreign exchange and, potentially, other services that may add value to Northern Trust's real estate clients

"Following consultation with a number of real estate fund managers, it was clear there was an opportunity for a single fund administrator, such as Northern Trust, who could provide a comprehensive and consistent service to real estate managers, across multiple jurisdictions," said Peter Cherecwich, Chief Operating Officer for Corporate and Institutional Services at Northern Trust.

"We have sought out a strategic market-leading solution that will give us the flexibility to tailor solutions for our clients that continue to meet the growing complexity of the real estate funds industry - whether that is supporting the processing of high volume cash flows from a large property portfolio with multiple tenants, or symmetrical processing of inter-company transactions," Cherecwich said.

The system has been bought under license from Intuit Real Estate Solutions, a leading provider of property, asset and investment management software for real estate organisations around the world.

Benefits of the new platform for Northern Trust include being able to offer robust, customised, cutting-edge fund administration capabilities across all the markets in which it operates real estate fund administration business.