Northern Trust Asset Management plans to convert six mutual funds with a combined $33 billion in assets into exchange-traded funds in the first quarter of 2027, expanding its ETF lineup as demand for the structure continues to grow.
Northern Trust Asset Management plans to convert six Northern Trust mutual funds into ETFs during the first quarter of 2027, the company announced Monday. The six funds held approximately $33 billion in combined assets as of June 30, 2026, according to the firm's announcement of the planned conversions.
The transactions would move established investment strategies into ETF structures while maintaining the underlying investment focus of the funds, according to Northern Trust.
The funds cover US large-cap, mid-cap and small-cap equities, international equities, tax-advantaged ultra-short fixed income and income-oriented equities. The largest is the Northern Stock Index Fund (NOSIX), with $19.3 billion in assets. It is expected to become the Northern Trust MSCI US 500 ETF (NTLC).
The other planned conversions are the Northern International Equity Index Fund (NOINX), Northern Tax-Advantaged Ultra-Short Fixed Income Fund (NTAUX), Northern Mid Cap Index Fund (NOMIX), Northern Small Cap Index Fund (NSIDX) and Northern Income Equity Fund (NOIEX).
Six Funds Represent $33 Billion ETF Conversion
Northern Trust said the planned conversions have been approved by the fund board and that shareholders and distributors are being given advance notice before implementation. The company cited several characteristics of ETFs behind the move, including trading flexibility, portfolio transparency and potential tax efficiency. Those features are among the reasons asset managers have increasingly shifted existing mutual-fund strategies into exchange-traded products.
Northern Trust already has a growing ETF operation. The firm's ETF assets totaled $27 billion as of June 30, while its broader asset-management business had $1.6 trillion in assets under management at the same date. Northern Trust said it has more than 15 years of experience managing ETFs.
The company has been expanding that platform throughout 2026. In August, Northern Trust completed the rebranding of its FlexShares products, bringing 27 FlexShares ETFs together with 12 Northern Trust ETFs launched over the previous year under the Northern Trust ETFs name. The rebranding did not change the funds' investment objectives, portfolio-management teams or investment processes.
Northern Trust also launched a US ETF servicing platform in July, initially supporting Harding Loevner's International Developed Markets Select Equity ETF (NYSE: LOEV). The company said the platform was designed to support asset managers launching and operating US ETFs. The expansion provides additional infrastructure for Northern Trust as it increases the number of investment strategies offered through the ETF structure.
The company has also sought regulatory flexibility around ETF structures. In June, Northern Trust announced that it had submitted applications for exemptive relief that could allow ETF share classes alongside existing mutual-fund share classes within certain sponsored series trusts.
ETF Growth Is Reshaping Fund Industry
Northern Trust's announcement arrives as ETFs continue to attract substantial investor assets. The Securities and Exchange Commission reported in February that the US ETF market had grown to more than 3,600 ETFs with assets exceeding $10 trillion. The regulator also noted rapid growth in the number of actively managed ETFs.
Data from the Investment Company Institute show the scale of current ETF demand. For the week ended Sept. 16, ETF net issuance totaled $26.61 billion, including $14.77 billion in equity ETFs and $9.72 billion in bond ETFs. Over the same week, long-term mutual funds recorded an estimated $36.70 billion in outflows.
The shift is not limited to new ETF launches. Existing mutual funds have increasingly been converted into ETFs, allowing asset managers to bring established strategies into a structure that can be traded throughout the day.
VettaFi reported in May that the industry had completed 203 mutual-fund-to-ETF conversions over the previous five years, representing more than $260 billion in converted assets. The firm said 2025 alone produced a record 60 conversions across 31 fund families.
Northern Trust's planned transactions therefore fit into a broader restructuring of how investment strategies are packaged and distributed.
For investors, the conversion itself does not automatically change the investment strategy. The key differences come from the ETF structure, including the way shares trade during market hours and how investors access the funds through brokerage accounts.
Northern Trust's existing ETF range includes equity, fixed-income and real-asset strategies. Its current ETF lineup includes products covering areas such as US equities, international markets, municipal bonds and inflation-linked securities.
The six planned conversions would add about $33 billion of existing mutual-fund assets to that broader ETF platform, assuming the transactions proceed as announced. The conversions are scheduled for the first quarter of 2027. Northern Trust did not announce a specific conversion date on Monday.