Northern Trust AM Deepens Strategic Alliance with Saudi Wealth Fund PIF
Northern Trust Asset Management just expanded its partnership with one of the world's largest sovereign wealth funds—proving traditional finance still needs crypto-level partnerships to stay relevant.
The Institutional Power Play
Northern Trust AM is doubling down on its relationship with Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, signaling a major institutional move that would make any crypto whale take notice. This isn't just another asset management deal—it's the kind of strategic alignment that typically precedes massive capital movements.
Why This Partnership Matters
While traditional finance giants keep playing musical chairs with sovereign wealth funds, the crypto space continues building actual decentralized infrastructure. PIF's continued expansion into global asset management shows even oil money needs diversification beyond fossil fuels—something crypto natives understood years ago.
The partnership expansion demonstrates that traditional finance institutions still believe in centralized power structures, even as decentralized alternatives continue eating their lunch. Another day, another legacy finance handshake deal that could've been executed more efficiently on-chain.
Northern Trust Asset Management (NTAM), a leading global investment management firm, and PIF intend to expand their relationship to include a new systematic quantitative investment strategy for the Saudi Arabian market.
The announcement rounds off joint efforts between NTAM and PIF, under the framework of a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed in May this year, for an up to US$1 billion Saudi index strategy, which both parties are working to initiate its execution process in due course.
Made public at the PIF Asset Management Forum, held on the sidelines of the Future Investment Initiative 9th Edition (FII9) in Riyadh, the announcement underscores NTAM’s long-term commitment to Saudi Arabia in alignment with PIF to promote further growth and development in the Saudi capital market ecosystem and drive product innovation.
PIF is one of the world’s most impactful investors, accelerating the growth of Saudi Arabia’s capital market and further driving the country’s economic transformation and its impact on global markets.
The new investment strategy will apply a systematic investment process that combines data science, alternative data, and disciplined quantitative factor models to identify and capture sources of excess return in the Saudi equity market. It leverages innovation and research-driven insights to deliver consistent, risk-adjusted performance aligned with market efficiency and transparency.
“For more than 30 years, NTAM has been a pioneer in quantitative investment strategies and we are delighted to bring our innovative, data-driven investment solutions to meet the needs of institutional investors and family offices in Saudi Arabia,” said , “Through deepening our relationship with PIF, one of the world’s most impactful investors, we underscore our commitment to expanding our asset management capabilities and local presence in the dynamic Saudi financial market.”
Globally NTAM manages US$48 billion in quantitative strategies across equities and fixed income, as of September 30, 2025. Northern Trust has served clients across the Middle East for more than 35 years and earlier this year announced the expansion of its asset management footprint in Saudi Arabia.
Source: Northern Trust
