Fundsmith has appointed Chicago-headquartered Northern Trust to provide fund administration, depositary, global custody and associated services to support its Smithson Investment Trust.
The UK-listed fund raised £833 million (€940 million) when it was floated in October last year, according to the Financial Times.
Its launch, supported by Northern Trust, “surpassed its founders’ initial expectations”, the US financial services firm said. Shares available upon launch were raised in order to meet investor demand.
The American firm was chosen to provide asset servicing solutions for Smithson Investment Trust because of its “global capabilities”, according to Simon Godwin, chief financial officer at Fundsmith, which has more than £22 billion in assets under management.
“Outsourcing trading activities across our funds to a trusted and expert provider supports Fundsmith’s focus on delivering first-class investment analysis, portfolio management and customer care,” he said.
This outsourcing will allow Fundsmith to “free-up capital and resources, while allowing them to exercise high levels of oversight and governance,” said Guy Gibson, Northern Trust Capital Market’s global head of institutional brokerage.
“By delivering global trade execution, matching, and compliance reporting through integrated trading solutions, Northern Trust is actively supporting our client’s commitment to delivering value and cost-efficiencies for investors,” he said.
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