Northern Trust Broadens UHNW Direct Indexing Access via Envestnet

Northern Trust Asset Management (“NTAM”), an investment management division of Northern Trust Corporation NTRS, has announced a partnership with Envestnet to offer its institutional-quality, tax-managed direct indexing solution through the platform. The collaboration enables the delivery of highly customized equity portfolios to ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW) clients.

Through the Envestnet platform, financial advisors will be able to access NTAM’s direct indexing solution, which provides a diversified range of equity investment strategies. The offering supports blending indices, apply quantitative factor tilts and include client-specific exclusions to align portfolios with individual preferences and values. The solution will also help advisors to construct portfolios that manage taxes efficiently, aiming to maximize clients’ after-tax returns.

Rationale Behind the Northern Trust–Envestnet Partnership

The collaboration aligns with Northern Trust’s strategy to expand access to personalized, tax-efficient investment solutions for ultra-high-net-worth clients. This segment increasingly demands portfolio customization and active tax management as part of long-term wealth planning.

Direct indexing has gained traction across the wealth management industry, as it allows advisors to tailor portfolios more precisely than traditional mutual funds or exchange-traded funds. The launch benefits Northern Trust by expanding distribution of its high-value direct indexing capabilities to a broad advisor base on the Envestnet platform, driving incremental assets under management growth without significant additional infrastructure investment. Direct indexing carries higher fees and greater client stickiness than traditional passive products, improving the company’s revenue and margin durability.

Suzanne Casey and Sunitha Thomas, co-heads of the Wealth Client Group, Northern Trust Asset Management, stated, “By offering our direct indexing capabilities on the Envestnet platform, we will empower more financial advisors to personalize portfolios at scale while taking their clients’ taxes into consideration.” Casey and Thomas further added that, “Tax management is key to effective portfolio management, which is why our innovative direct indexing technology is built to help financial advisors deliver after-tax returns to their clients. The partnership with Envestnet reflects our commitment to helping investors achieve their goals, by using sophisticated strategies and tools to adapt to evolving market conditions.”

The growing adoption of direct indexing and customized model portfolios is not only driving NTRS’s expansion but also attracting attention from other financial firms like BlackRock, Inc. BLK and State Street Corporation STT.

In April 2025, BLK launched its custom model portfolios on the Envestnet platform, giving advisors streamlined access to scalable, tax-efficient investment strategies. In the same month, State Street Investment Management (formerly State Street Global Advisors), an investment management division of STT, partnered with Envestnet to offer direct indexing solutions, enabling investors to implement highly personalized, tax-aware portfolios within a unified managed account structure. Together, these developments illustrate a broader industry trend in which leading financial firms are leveraging wealth technology platforms to provide advisors with more sophisticated, tax-smart solutions at scale.

By making its institutional-quality direct indexing capabilities available on Envestnet, Northern Trust allows advisors to access and implement these solutions within a single integrated platform. The partnership also supports NTAM’s growth strategy by broadening distribution, attracting asset inflows, and scaling existing investment capabilities efficiently.

Northern Trust’s Price Performance and Zacks Rank

NTRS shares have rallied 14.4% over the past six months compared with 17.2% growth of the industry.

Currently, the company carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

Zacks Investment Research