Research · Mar 11, 2026
Does Northern Trust's Technology Wedge Change the Long-Term Fee Economics of ETF Custody for All Three Players?
Northern Trust's technology investments in ETF custody automation create a pricing wedge that could accelerate fee compression across the custodian oligopoly — but FY2025 revenue declines at NTRS suggest the transition is costly before it is rewarding. State Street's SPDR franchise and BNY Mellon's scale keep both incumbents better positioned than valuations suggest, while ICE's 38.7% EBIT margin illustrates that the most durable pricing power in the ETF ecosystem sits in index and data infrastructure, not custody.