Chicago-based Northern Trust has appointed David Highmark managing director of its newly formalised Professional Athletes Division, which provides financial services for athletes, coaches, sports agents and franchise executives.

Mr Highmark was previously chief executive of Northern Trust’s personal financial services business in the Southwest region of the US; his successor has been named as Steve MacLellan. In his new role Mr Highmark will relocate to Pheonix, Arizona, and will report to Personal Financial Services co-president Sherry Barrat.

Mr Highmark has advised professional athletes and sports managers throughout his 24-year career at Northern Trust. To date, more than 300 professional athletes have utilised the firm's private banking, financial planning, investment management and trust and estate planning services. 

"With relatively short careers, it's essential that they [athletes and sports professionals] have a long-term plan in place to protect their financial security. Providing that financial stability allows athletes to focus on what matters to them most: playing the game," said Mr Highmark.

"In formalising this offering, we plan to extend our reach in the sports community and continue to develop financial programmes tailored to the unique wealth management needs of professional athletes.”

Headquartered in Chicago, Northern Trust has a network of 85 offices across the US, along with international offices in 15 locations in North America, Europe, the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region.

At 31 December 2008, Northern Trust had $3 trillion in assets under custody and $559 billion in assets under management.