Northern Trust Expands Securities Exposure Reporting

January 14, 2010 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Northern Trust has expanded the scope of its securities exposure reporting for clients to include counterparties for over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives contracts.

The incorporation of OTC derivative counterparties on the “Security Exposure Analysis” available on Passport, Northern Trust’s Web portal, in addition to that for more traditional investments such as equity and fixed income holdings, “makes it easier for clients to gather and aggregate complex information across multiple investments and accounts,” according to a press release.

Clients can enter a stock ticker, security identifier, or issuer name on their Passport dashboard and immediately receive total holdings in any one entity across asset types and accounts. The tool combines market exposure from both equity and fixed income holdings with other sources of exposure such as counterparty exposure from OTC derivatives.

In addition, Northern Trust has enhanced the detail available in client reports, including additional issuer exposure information such as gross and net notional values, and exposure breakout by asset category.

“Market volatility and shocks to the financial system have prompted institutional investors to take a broader, deeper view of exposures for their risk management and compliance oversight programs,” said Lenora Kelley, Product Manager for Northern Trust’s compliance products, in the announcement. “This tool gives our clients the ability to gain a quick understanding of the impact on a fund or plan from exposure to a single entity – both market exposure from physical assets and counterparty exposure from OTC derivatives transactions – when market events occur.”

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