Chicago-based Northern Trust has added a fee-rebate feature to its UK and offshore client services system.

The automatic report-generating software has been added to the company’s transfer agency product, used by Northern Trust's asset managers in the UK, Ireland, Luxembourg and the Channel Islands.

It is hoped the application  -which helps advisors calculate management fees, agent trailer fees and register fee rebates -  will enhance straight-through processing and risk management.

 “Across the fund industry, there is a growing need to give promoters greater flexibility around the commission payment terms they can offer to their distribution agents…such as the fee rebate module which automatically generates reports which are available at both detailed and summary levels,” said Mark Schoen, head of asset servicing product management in Europe, Middle East and Africa.

Northern Trust is a US financial holding company with offices in North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific regions. As of June 30 2009, Northern Trust had assets under custody of $3.2 trillion, and assets under management of $559 billion.