Investor-centric focus. Disciplined approach. Distinctive ETF solutions.

A Heritage of Excellence
FlexShares are sponsored and managed by Northern Trust, one of the world’s leading investment firms and a premier index manager. FlexShares leverages this global expertise in asset allocation, portfolio construction and risk management. Our mission to advance the ETF development process by building strategies more relevant to investors’ needs is inspired by our Northern Trust heritage of delivering distinctive investment solutions, expertise in index design and sophisticated risk management. Five years ago, FlexShares launched its four initial ETFs on the New York Stock Exchange. As of March 31, 2017, FlexShares has 25 funds with over $14.1 billion in assets under management.

We are proud to serve the investment needs of financial advisors and their clients to help them build a diversified investment portfolio for the long term with creatively designed ETF products that are accessible, goal-oriented, tax efficient and low cost. Our investor-centric approach and unique product engineering methodology combine to produce innovative investment strategies that are helping to shape the next generation of ETFs.

Investor-centric Focus
At FlexShares, our focus is on understanding and responding to investor needs. We design funds that meet specific investment objectives and we continually work to help investors become well-educated consumers of Exchange Traded Funds. We freely share our knowledge and expertise to help investors make informed decisions on how ETFs can best help them achieve their long-term goals.

The FlexShares mission is to provide exchange traded funds that serve as the building blocks for outcome-oriented portfolios. This focus on “investing with purpose” is at the heart of our unique brand of ETFs. Focusing on investor needs and preferences is in our DNA. Our solutions framework focuses on investors’ fundamental needs of growing assets, managing risk, providing liquidity and generating income, objectives that are not achieved overnight. It follows, then, that the funds we offer are differentiated and targeted toward long-term investors. More important to understanding what differentiates our funds, however, is knowing why we do what we do… what principles and values shape our organizational beliefs and business practices.

Disciplined Approach
Our decisions to launch specific funds are supported by quantitative research as well as analysis of industry and competitive trends. This empirically driven approach to ETF product development is a core tenet of our approach. As seasoned investment professionals, we intensely focus on identifying and delivering unique insights that help improve the investing experience. Investors can benefit from our expertise in index management, quantitative research, fixed income and multi-asset class solutions. The depth and breadth of our expertise is delivered through our outcome-oriented ETF solutions.

Distinctive ETF Solutions
FlexShares funds deliver all the benefits and features of ETFs: transparency, flexibility, tax efficiency and generally lower costs than other investment vehicles. But rather than simply track a traditional index, FlexShares seeks to advance the specific objectives our investor’s voice by leveraging our research and investment expertise across disciplines. The distinctive products we offer are the result of our unique value proposition offering an investor-centric focus, disciplined management processes and distinctive ETF solutions.

Our core values
The decisions we make, the strategies we design and the manner in which we interact with all of our stakeholders are based upon our core values:

• Intellectual curiosity - We pay close attention to proven economic theory as well as market trends and evolving investor preferences. 
• Simplicity - An investment solution should be easy for any prospective investor to understand and so we strive to communicate the science behind our investment strategies and clearly define our investment objectives. 
• Transparency - The structure of most ETFs allow investors to readily evaluate the underlying fund holdings. Our distinct approach to product management helps investors make informed investment decisions based on the targeted outcomes and risk exposures. 
• Discipline - We strictly adhere to the core tenets of our investing methodology to ensure that our investment solutions directly address the specific financial goals and needs we have identified. 
• Collaboration - We leverage our deep investment expertise and relationships with a wide array clients and industry participants to provide solutions tailored to investor needs. 
• Patience - Investing is a time-tested discipline that requires assessment of long-term performance against clearly identified objectives. We make the proper investment of time in the design, delivery and measurement of performance outcomes.

Media Contacts:
Doug Holt
Head of Global Corporate Communications
Senior Vice President
Northern Trust
50 South La Salle Street
Chicago, Illinois 60603
+1 (312) 557-1571
Doug_Holt@ntrs.com

Tom Pinto
Vice President
Northern Trust
40 West 57th Street
21st Floor
New York, NY 10019
+1 (212) 339-7288
tp117@ntrs.com