North Dakota Retirement and Investment Office Outsources Trading to Northern Trust

The North Dakota Retirement and Investment Office (NDRIO) has become the first major U.S. asset owner to outsource trading operations to Northern Trust. The move, facilitated through Northern Trust's Integrated Trading Solutions (ITS) platform, marks a significant shift in how institutional investors manage their portfolios.

NDRIO oversees more than two dozen client funds, including the $12 billion North Dakota Legacy Fund. Scott Anderson, NDRIO's chief investment officer, emphasized that outsourcing will enhance operational efficiency, reliability, and scalability as the agency brings more assets in-house.

Northern Trust's front-office solutions platform, launched six years ago, now handles over $1 trillion in assets. Melanie Pickett, head of asset servicing for the Americas, noted that clients initially expected to use only software have universally adopted the firm's middle-office services—a testament to the limitations of technology alone in meeting complex data needs.