EUROPE - Northern Trust is to expand its asset management business for institutional investors in the Benelux region from its Amsterdam office, pending approval from the Dutch and UK regulators.

Gerard van Leusden and Arnaud Bizet have been hired as senior business development directors, responsible for building asset management relationships across the region, with focus on pension funds and asset management groups.

Both join from Blackrock in Amsterdam, where they were sales and relationship management directors.

They will work alongside Liisa Salojarvi, who has advised Northern Trust's Benelux clients from London.

Wim van Ooijen, country head in the Netherlands, said: "The Netherlands continues to be a key market for Northern Trust and one in which we have been increasingly successful as a corporation for many years, and we are delighted to now also enter the attractive local asset management market segment from our Amsterdam office."

John Krieg, managing director in Europe, Middle East and Africa, added: "Now, through our expansion, we can offer the local market direct access to our investment expertise and array of asset management solutions in addition to the variety of custody and fund administration services already offered in the Benelux region."

Northern Trust has been offering asset management services - including active, passive and quantitative investment - to clients across EMEA from its London office for more than 10 years.