Northern Trust’s FlexShares Funds Exceed $500 Million

Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ: NTRS) announced today that FlexShares, its four-month-old family of exchange-traded funds, has exceeded $500 million in assets.

FlexShares represent Northern Trust’s global expertise in asset management, investment solutions and risk management. Launched in September, the funds are designed to make it easier to construct and manage portfolios that seek to achieve investor goals while offering all the traditional benefits of ETFs.

“To exceed the half-billion-dollar watermark in less than four months is an exciting milestone,” said Shundrawn Thomas, head of Northern Trust’s Exchange Traded Funds Group. “The market has responded positively to our focus on distinctive products that address real investor needs.”

The FlexShares funds available on the New York Stock Exchange are based on indexes created and maintained by Morningstar, Inc., and Markit Group Ltd. They are:

• FlexShares Morningstar Global Upstream Natural Resources Index Fund [GUNR] – seeks to offer balanced exposure to rising global demand for natural resources, emphasizing companies with business interests in early stages of the resource supply chain.

• FlexShares Morningstar U.S. Market Factor Tilt Index Fund [TILT] – strives to offer an alternative exposure to the broad U.S. stock market by tilting the portfolio toward small cap and value stocks.
• FlexShares iBoxx 3-Year Target Duration TIPS [TDTT] and FlexShares iBoxx 5-Year Target Duration TIPS Index Funds [TDTF] – seek to provide investors access to Treasury inflation-protected securities with stable duration exposure through changing interest-rate and economic cycles. The funds’ secondary goal of income generation also may help diversify portfolios. iBoxx is a family of independent bond indexes provided by Markit, a leading financial information services company.

“FlexShares are next-generation ETFs,” Thomas added. “They’re customized to meet our investors’ core goals by pursuing distinct investment outcomes to meet a variety of needs.”

For more information: www.flexshares.com

An investment in FlexShares is subject to investment risk, including the possible loss of principal amount invested. Fund returns may not match the return of their respective Index. The Funds’ may invest in emerging and foreign markets, derivatives and concentrated sectors. In addition, the Funds’ may be subject to asset class risk, small cap stock risk, value investing risk, non- diversification risk, fluctuation of yield, income risk, interest rate/maturity risk, currency risk, passive investment risk, inflation protected security risk, market risk and manager risk. For a complete description of risks associated with each Fund please refer to the prospectus.

Before investing carefully consider the FlexShares investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. This and other information is in the prospectus, a copy of which may be obtained by visiting www.flexshares.com.Read the prospectus carefully before you invest.

FlexShares ETFs are distributed by Foreside Fund Services, LLC, not affiliated with Northern Trust.

Duration is a measurement of how long, in years, it takes for the price of a bond to be repaid by its internal cash flows.

About FlexShares

FlexShares is a suite of ETF products designed to pursue real-world goals by evolving the process of ETF development, providing flexibility for meeting investor needs. FlexShares Funds are sponsored by Northern Trust. Individual investors can purchase and sell shares through any brokerage firm, financial advisor or online broker.

About Northern Trust

Northern Trust Corporation (Nasdaq: NTRS) is a leading provider of investment management, asset and fund administration, banking solutions and fiduciary services for corporations, institutions and affluent individuals worldwide. Northern Trust, a financial holding company based in Chicago, has offices in 18 U.S. states and 16 international locations in North America, Europe, the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region. As of September 30, 2011, Northern Trust had assets under custody of US$4.2 trillion, and assets under investment management of US$644.2 billion. For more than 120 years, Northern Trust has earned distinction as an industry leader in combining exceptional service and expertise with innovative products and technology. For more information, visit www.northerntrust.com.

About Morningstar, Inc.

Morningstar, Inc. is a leading provider of independent investment research in North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia. The company offers an extensive line of products and services for individuals, financial advisors, and institutions. Morningstar provides data on approximately 400,000 investment offerings, including stocks, mutual funds, and similar vehicles, along with real-time global market data on more than 4 million equities, indexes, futures, options, commodities, and precious metals, in addition to foreign exchange and Treasury markets. Morningstar also offers investment management services through its investment advisory subsidiaries and has more than $180 billion in assets under advisement and management as of June 30, 2011. The company has operations in 26 countries.

The FlexShares Morningstar ETFs are not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by Morningstar, and Morningstar makes no representation regarding the advisability of investing in them.

About Markit

Markit is a leading, global financial information services company with over 2,300 employees. The company provides independent data, valuations and trade processing across all asset classes in order to enhance transparency, reduce risk and improve operational efficiency. Its client base includes the most significant institutional participants in the financial marketplace. For more information, please see www.markit.com.

The FlexShares iBoxx ETFs are not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by Markit, and Markit makes no representation regarding the advisability of investing in them.