Munger Mode rating: 2 out of 5 — Sell. Our own rating from the research report below, on business quality first: moat durability and management, with price separating the top three.
We have watched the trust banks for half a century, and Northern Trust is the classiest of the lot — a 137-year-old Chicago institution that has paid a dividend without interruption since 1896, serves the wealthiest families in America, and safekeeps $20 trillion of other people's assets. It is a good business run by capable people. But good is not wonderful, and the distinction is the whole game. Custody is a scale business with chronic fee compression and no pricing power, Northern Trust's decade-average return on equity of roughly 11% barely clears its cost of capital, and the business requires relentless technology spending merely to hold its position.
Recent filings analysed: 8-K (2026-08-03), 10-Q (2026-07-30), 8-K (2026-07-22), 10-Q (2026-04-30).
Stock screener · Superinvestor 13F holdings · Analyst sentiment · Market valuation