Northern Trust Likely Raising New Set of Funds of Funds

It appears that Northern Trust Corp. has been gearing up for a new round of private equity fundraising.

The Chicago banking company, best known as a custodian of assets for companies and institutional investors, has filed paperwork for a clutch of new funds encompassing both buyout and venture capital strategies. The documents don’t say so, but Northern Trust has long been a manager of funds of funds. Chances are the new funds will be along the same lines.

The regulatory documents identify five individual funds—Northern Trust Private Equity Fund V LP, Northern Trust Private Equity Fund (QP) V LP, Northern Trust Buyout (Non-U.S.) Fund V LP, Northern Trust Buyout (U.S.) Fund V LP and Northern Trust Global Venture Capital Fund V LP—all of which were registered on a single day in November. The filings do not indicate that the bank has yet raised any money for any of them, nor do they show fundraising targets.

The predecessor Northern Trust Buyout (U.S.) Fund IV LP, a 2010 vintage pool, raised $70.8 million toward a $400 million target as of January 2011, according to the most recent SEC filing for that fund. Likewise, the companion Northern Trust Venture Capital Fund IV LP raised $50.9 million toward a planned $400 million.

The filings on the older funds noted, “The General Partner reserves the right to offer a greater or lesser amount of limited partner interests.” A spokesmen for the bank declined comment, citing regulatory restrictions.

Northern Trust has been in the funds-of-funds business since 1989, according to the Thomson One database.

Steve Bills is a senior editor at Buyouts Magazine. Any opinions expressed here are entirely his own. Follow him on Twitter @Steve_Bills. Follow Buyouts tweets @Buyouts. For information on how to subscribe, contact Greg Winterton at greg.winterton@thomsonreuters.com.