Frontier appoints Northern Trust for ICIO launch

Binaya Dahal

Journalist

19 June 2026

Frontier Advisors has appointed Northern Trust as custodian for its new independent chief investment officer (ICIO) service and thereby attained the requirement to launch the offering for institutional investors.

The $900 billion Australian asset consultancy described the appointment as “the final piece in the puzzle” for the platform, adding it handed the role to US-based services provider following an extensive and competitive review process conducted jointly with Ironbark over several months.

Frontier first announced the ICIO plan last year after absorbing State Super’s investment team, which transitioned to the firm in December and has since operated as the inaugural client of the platform.

Since then, the consultant has been working with Ironbark Investment Solutions’ Corporate Trustee business to establish the structure needed to extend the offering beyond State Super to a broader range of institutional investors.

The firm says the service will deliver investment advice and portfolio management capability through a scalable wholesale managed discretionary account structure designed to support multiple underlying clients

“We’ve had great feedback since we announced our ICIO plans in late 2025 and that has come both from our existing clients and a range of groups we haven’t had the chance to work with previously because we could not fully meet their requirements, despite their interest in Frontier,” said Andrew Polson, chief executive of Frontier.

“A major part of what these investors are looking for is getting access to custodian services. Having an organisation like Northern Trust providing a consistent, scalable servicing and data framework is powerful and their reputation and record adds to the capability and confidence the Frontier brand provides as part of ICIO.”

Northern Trust’s head of Australia and New Zealand Leon Stavrou said Australia is a key growth market for the firm, and it will continue to build “upon our support for institutional investors as they modernise their operating models”.

“Our commitment to client service, technology, governance and advanced data delivery are central to Frontier Advisors’ ICIO proposition and a key reason we were selected for this mandate,” Stavrou said.

“Importantly, our scalable data support model can evolve to meet the requirements of the ICIO platform’s continuing development. We look forward to working closely with Frontier Advisors as they grow their ICIO offering in the Australian market.”