Welcome to the Northern Trust (NT) integration guide for Balance. This article outlines how the partnership works, what to expect during implementation, and how to manage your data mapping for a seamless automated feed.

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Integration Overview

The Northern Trust integration automates the flow of investment activity into Balance, eliminating manual data entry.

Key Information:

• Contracting: Your contract for this integration is directly with Northern Trust. Please direct all questions regarding base subscription pricing or NT service fees to your Northern Trust Relationship Manager.

• Data Flow: NT sends investment data via a secure FTP (File Transfer Protocol). This data is then pulled into Balance using an internal utility.

• Scope of Data: The automated feed typically imports five key fields: Ending Market Value, Interest/Dividends, Realized Gains, Unrealized Gains, and Investment Fees.

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Integration Methods

There are two primary ways the integration can be configured based on your organizational needs:

Feature	Pool-Level Integration (Most Common)	Manager-Level Integration
Module Required	Basic Subscription	Investment Portfolio Module
Best For	Customers without the Portfolio module or those with incompatible feed accounts.	Customers needing granular detail per investment manager.
Process	Data is summarized at the consolidated pool level or manually keyed from an NT "LP/PE Rollforward" report.	Individual manager data is sent via FTP and synced via the Balance utility.

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The Implementation Journey

1. Kick-Off & Discovery

During your kick-off call, we will confirm the structure of your accounts. Be prepared to discuss:

• Pool Mapping: Do you have multiple pools? Are all assets in these pools held at Northern Trust?

• Outside Assets: If you have assets not held at NT (e.g., a separate endowment cash account), you will need to manually add that activity to the automated NT figures.

• Account Relationships: We need to know which specific NT account numbers relate to each pool. Note that one NT account cannot be split between two pools for the automated feed.

2. Technical Setup

Behind the scenes, our team configures the mapping between Northern Trust’s file identifiers and your Balance database. We use specific "Custody Account Numbers" provided by NT to ensure data lands in the correct Pool or Manager profile.

3. Testing & Verification

Once NT prepares the file transmission (typically a 6–8 week lead time):

1. NT sends a test file to Balance.

2. Our team verifies the transmission was successful.

3. We log into your database to ensure the data maps correctly to your current period.

4. Going Live

You and NT will determine a specific business day each month for the transmission (e.g., the 10th business day).

• Monthly Action: On your predetermined day, you will go to Activity > Utilities in Balance and run the "Import From Northern Trust" utility to pull in the latest data. Reference our help article on importing Northern Trust data for more help.

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Troubleshooting & Support

• Investment Data Inquiries: If you have questions about the specific values or activity pulled in from the feed, please contact Northern Trust. Balance can only see the data provided in the file.

• File Transmission Issues: If the utility fails or data does not appear, contact Balance Support first. We will coordinate with NT if the issue is on the server side.

• Time-Sensitive Needs: If you are in a rush and the feed is delayed, you can always manually input activity from your statements or use a Standard Manager Import file.

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Appendix: Technical Communication for IT/Admin

If Northern Trust asks you to confirm connection protocols, please ensure they use the following settings:

• Protocol: SSH FTP (SFTP)

• Server: ftp2.fundriver.com (Ensure it is ftp2)

• Encryption: Do NOT use PGP encryption.

• Port: 22

Note on Single Sign-On (SSO): You may access Balance via the "NT Passport Custody System" or via Balance's native SSO. While both are supported, we recommend using Balance's native SSO for a more streamlined support experience.