Northern Trust Expands OCIO Team

Patrick Groenendijk is a client investment officer in the firm’s Multi-Manager Solutions business. James Hayes and Tracey Nykiel also recently joined Northern Trust as client investment officers. Nazneen Kanga has joined as a solutions strategist focusing on foundations, endowments and global family offices. Kurt Zemaier has joined as a pension risk strategist.

Groenendijk comes to Northern Trust from Pensioenfonds Vervoer in the Netherlands, where he was responsible for managing the transport industry pension fund. Hayes was formerly with Allstate Investments, and Nykiel was formerly with consultant R.V. Kuhns & Associates. Kanga was formerly with Morgan Creek Capital Management, and Zemaier was most recently with investment consultant Hewitt EnnisKnupp.

The use of OCIO services is increasing as defined benefit and defined contribution retirement plan sponsors, as well as non-profits, see the benefits. Plan sponsors may lack time and specialty expertise among internal resources, and the OCIO model can help optimize management and oversight of increasingly complex investment portfolios, enable timely decision-making and make more efficient use of limited staff resources.

Northern Trust says it has experienced rapid growth in investment outsourcing services, adding $14 billion in new assets in the 12 months ending June 30, 2014. New clients, including corporate defined benefit pensions, a multi-employer pension plan, family offices and not-for-profit institutions in the United States, Canada and Europe, bring Multi-Manager Solutions to more than $99 billion in assets, including approximately $58 billion in assets under management and $42 billion under advisement.