Once the transaction closes in June, Hewitt will assume control of Northern Trust Retirements facilities and employees in Atlanta.
Though the retirement services business "is important for our clients," Northern Trust Chairman and Chief Executive Officer William Osborn told American Banker in an interview, it would have required investments in service and technology capabilities in order to serve customers properly. The company wants to focus on custody and asset management, instead, Osborn said.
Assuming that Northern puts the capital it receives from the deal, which it did not disclose, to work more effectively in higher-margin businesses, selling retirement services "would appear to be a smart move," Kenneth Usdin of
