Post by Niccolò M. Mottola

Northern Trust Manages $170 Billion in Family Office Assets. That's More Than BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, or UBS The biggest name in family office asset management isn't who you think. Northern Trust - a Chicago-based financial services firm most people outside wealth management have never heard of - manages $170 billion in family office assets. That's more than BlackRock, State Street, Fidelity, Vanguard, Goldman Sachs, and UBS in this specific segment. Why? "The core principles of our founding family have remained steadfast - service, expertise and integrity," says the head of Northern Trust's family office unit. What Northern Trust Gets Right: They don't try to sell products - they provide infrastructure Multi-custodian reporting (families don't want to be locked into one bank) Institutional-grade operations for lean teams Global capabilities across jurisdictions They've been doing this longer than most competitors The Family Office Service Provider Landscape: Tier 1: Full-service custody and administration (Northern Trust, BNY, State Street) Tier 2: Private banking + advisory (Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, UBS, Morgan Stanley) Tier 3: Specialized platforms (Addepar, Masttro, Eton Solutions) Tier 4: Outsourced operations (IQ-EQ, Ocorian, fund administrators) What Family Offices Actually Want From Service Providers: 72% cite high fees as the top obstacle to investing in private markets Technology integration (wealth aggregation across multiple custodians) Multi-jurisdictional compliance Transparent reporting Independence (not being pushed proprietary products) The Power Dynamic Is Shifting: Family offices with $1B+ AUM are increasingly demanding institutional-level service at competitive pricing. They're also splitting services across providers: Custody at Northern Trust PE deal flow from Goldman Technology from Addepar Tax from PwC Cybersecurity from specialized firms No single provider captures the entire relationship anymore. The winners are the firms that understand family offices want partners, not vendors. Who manages the family office relationships in your network? References: Crain Currency - Who Manages the Most Family Office Money: https://lnkd.in/eeSxv9cE Bank of America 2025 Family Office Report: https://lnkd.in/ec7F67-B BlackRock 2025 Family Office Survey: https://lnkd.in/ef8itPde