Northern Trust tweaks wealth leadership as new CIO steps in

Northern Trust has named Eric Freedman chief investment officer for its wealth management business, continuing a string of leadership moves across the firm’s private client and asset servicing operations.

Freedman, who joined from US Bank, will oversee the investment platform serving Northern Trust Wealth Management’s private clients and lead a national team of more than 200 portfolio managers.

His appointment, effective December 2, sees him report to Jason Tyler, president of Northern Trust's private wealth business.

Northern Trust Wealth Management, which held $492.6 billion in assets under management as of September 30. Its Chicago-based parent, Northern Trust Corporation, reported $1.8 trillion in AUM.

Freedman replaces longtime investment chief Katie Nixon, who had held the CIO post since 2012. In her new role, Nixon will run Northern Trust’s Northeast region, which the firm sees as a key growth market with a diverse, sophisticated client base. She will stay on Tyler’s leadership team alongside regional presidents Michael Bracci in the South, John Fumagalli in the Central region and Abel Montañez, who joined Northern Trust Wealth Management in June to lead its operations in the West.

“Katie has always brought a rare combination of steadiness and strategic instinct to our investment practice,” Tyler said in the announcement this week, noting those qualities as essential for a role that “demands both deep client understanding and strong leadership alignment across the firm.”

Tyler framed Freedman’s arrival against a backdrop of information overload and market noise facing wealthy investors.

“Eric arrives at a moment when investors are facing more choices, more information, and more uncertainty,” he said, adding that his leadership is intended to keep the firm’s platform focused on delivering the “insight and consistency private clients need to achieve their financial goals.”

Freedman brings more than 20 years of experience in asset allocation and portfolio management across wealth and institutional clients. Before joining Northern Trust, he was chief investment officer at US Bank and oversaw that firm’s asset management group. His earlier career included senior roles at Goldman Sachs and CapTrust.

The move caps several months of senior reshuffling at Northern Trust. In June, the firm created a new outsourced chief investment officer strategy role in its asset servicing division, naming industry veteran Katherine McCabe to lead the effort and report to Americas asset servicing head Melanie Pickett. At the time, McCabe said the firm aimed to “craft innovative solutions that address the distinct needs of OCIOs and their clients” by drawing on internal expertise and closer ties with consultants.

Northern Trust has also seen some notable departures earlier this year. Cecily Bolding left behind a managing director role at Northern Trust to take a similar role at Bernstein Private Wealth Management. Richard Lafont, who'd been a senior vice president and relationship advisor at Northern Trust Wealth Management, joined Texas-based RIA Endeavor in July as partner and director of family office services.