Market and Economic Commentary
Valuable Insight
Up-to-the-minute insight on your world from Northern Trust's in-house experts.
Economist Biographies
Carl R. Tannenbaum
Mr. Tannenbaum publishes weekly commentaries and is frequently interviewed by media outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, and Reuters.
Prior to joining Northern Trust, Mr. Tannenbaum spent four years at the Federal Reserve, where he led the risk section. He was deeply involved in the central bank’s response to the 2008 financial crisis, helped to create and conduct its stress testing program, and advised senior Federal Reserve leaders on developments in banking and the financial markets.
Mr. Tannenbaum began his career in banking at LaSalle Bank/ABN AMRO, a global banking organization with $1 trillion in total assets. He served for more than 20 years there as the organization’s Chief Economist and Head of Balance Sheet Management.
Mr. Tannenbaum is a member and past Chairman of the American Bankers Association’s Economic Advisory Committee, the National Association for Business Economics, the Conference of Business Economists, and the North American Asset/Liability Management Association.
Mr. Tannenbaum also serves on the Board of Working in the Schools (WITS), a literacy organization that supports the Chicago Public Schools.
Mr. Tannenbaum holds an M.B.A. and a B.A. in finance and economics from the University of Chicago.
Investment Strategy
Jim McDonald
Prior to joining Northern Trust in 2001 as the director of equity research, Jim was director of equity research at ABN AMRO in New York and Chicago (1994-2000) and an equity research analyst at ABN AMRO following the environmental services industry (1990-1994). He started his professional career in 1981 with Arthur Andersen & Co. in Detroit.
Jim received a BBA from the University of Michigan and an MBA degree with high distinction from Babson College. He is a member of the CFA® Society of Chicago and a registered CPA in the state of Michigan.
Bob Browne, CFA
Bob Browne is executive vice president and chief investment officer for Northern Trust. He is a member of Northern Trust's Management Group. He is also a co-portfolio manager of the Northern Global Tactical Asset Allocation Fund.
Bob chairs the firm’s Investment Policy Committee, which sets investment policy for all Northern Trust groups in all asset classes. He is responsible for investment performance, process and philosophy across multiple investment strategies including fixed income, active equity and passive investments. Bob joined Northern Trust in January 2009 and has 30 years of investment experience.
From 2004 to 2009, Bob worked for ING Investment Management and was the firm’s chief investment officer for fixed income and proprietary investments. In this capacity, he oversaw $120 billion in assets under management across retail and institutional clients, as well as the firm’s own insurance assets. From 2002 to 2004, Bob was founder and managing partner of Picador Capital, an alternative investment firm. From 1999 to 2001, he was co-head of Americas fixed income for Merrill Lynch Investments and he also worked in the firm’s London office from 1997 to 1999 as a senior portfolio manager. Bob spent the first eight years of his career, from 1989 until 1997, at JP Morgan Investment working as a global fixed income and currency portfolio manager in the firm’s Tokyo and London offices.
Bob holds a bachelor’s degree with a major in economics from the College of the Holy Cross. He also has a master’s in international business studies from the University of South Carolina. Bob is a CFA® charterholder.
Katie Nixon, CFA, CIMA, CPWA
Katie is an Executive Vice President and Chief Investment Officer for the Wealth Management business at Northern Trust. In that capacity, Katie leads the national investment management practice for Northern Trust’s Wealth Management business from the firm’s Chicago headquarters. Her responsibilities include investment policy development with a particular focus on portfolio construction and implementation. She also directs the investment management activities of over 200 Northern Trust portfolio managers across the firm’s 60+ Wealth Management offices. Katie sits on the Firm’s Investment Policy Committee and Tactical Asset Allocation Committee, and she chairs the Wealth Management Investment Advisory Committee. Katie was selected as one of Private Asset Management’s ‘50 Most Influential Women in Private Wealth’ for 2016.
Prior to joining Northern Trust, Ms. Nixon worked at U.S. Trust Company for eighteen years in several investment related capacities, including Managing Director and Division Manager in the Wealth Management Division in New York, overseeing a group of portfolio managers and client service officers with total combined assets under management in excess of $7 Billion. Ms. Nixon also served on US Trust's Portfolio Policy Committee as well as the Private Equity Investment Committee.
Katie received her B.A. from Wellesley College and her M.B.A. in Finance from New York University, Stern School of Business where she graduated with distinction, Beta Gamma Sigma, and was a Stern Scholar. She has received the designations of both Certified Investment Management Analyst (CIMA®) and Certified Private Wealth Advisor (CPWA®) from the Investment Management Consultants Association. Further, she has been awarded the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation, and is also a member of the New York Society of Security Analysts and the Investment Management Consultants Association (IMCA).