Olivier Noël and Raphaël Remond (Northern Trust): Leadership, Luxembourg, and a Special Landmark

Established in Luxembourg twenty years ago, Northern Trust has grown alongside the Duchy’s financial industry. We talked with Olivier Noël, CEO and Raphaël Remond, Deputy CEO of Northern Trust’s Luxembourg-headquartered bank, Northern Trust Global Services SE, about that intertwined growth.

A Twenty-Year Journey

Northern Trust was established in Luxembourg in 2004 to help clients take advantage of European fund opportunities. Olivier joined shortly afterwards as its head of Luxembourg transfer agency, supporting clients’ investor servicing and communication. “I was part of the team that onboarded our first client,” explains Olivier, who today leads Northern Trust’s Luxembourg-based asset servicing business. “Twenty years later, I am proud of our growth and evolution.” He has helped shape Northern Trust into one of the Grand Duchy’s top 10 fund administrators, with over 400 staff and $260 billion of assets under administration . Key milestones include becoming the first major custodian licensed to establish a UCITS-compliant management company in Luxembourg, servicing a cross-border, tax-transparent Fonds Commun de Placements for a multinational global pension plan, and acquiring UBS’s fund administration business in Luxembourg (and Switzerland). The company is deeply committed to Luxembourg, relocating its EU bank to Luxembourg in 2019.

“Both Northern Trust and Luxembourg are constantly evolving to support investment managers with their market opportunities.”

Raphaël Remond, Northern Trust

Growing Hand in Hand

Northern Trust’s success has come alongside Luxembourg’s growth as Europe’s largest funds hub. “Luxembourg continues to grow its success and reputation as a home for global investment funds,” Raphaël explains. Growth has risen month-on-month in 2024, reaching €5.6 trillion of assets under management at time of writing . “Both Northern Trust and Luxembourg are constantly evolving our infrastructure for supporting investment funds,” Raphaël continues. “We support all asset classes across both private and public markets – from the most traditional to the most complex fund types.” Private markets investing is a particular area of opportunity, as it continues to move towards the mainstream of the funds industry. For example, demand for so-called ‘semi-liquid’ fund products – structures with hybrid asset mix of public and private assets in an open-ended fund vehicle – is rising, and as a long-established home for alternative investment funds, Luxembourg is well-placed to capitalise.

The Heart of Europe

Northern Trust has had twenty years of success, but its leaders remain focused on the future – and Luxembourg lies at the heart of the company’s Continental European growth strategy: “Our substantial presence in Luxembourg complements Northern Trust’s network of offices in eight European countries and presence in 26 global locations,” Olivier says “It’s how we support our clients with their global market opportunities.” “We thank our clients and industry partners for their support and collaboration over the past 20 years,” Raphaël adds. “And we look forward to reaching further landmarks in partnership with them.”