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- Who We Serve
- What We Do
- About Us
- Insights & Research
At a Glance
Our Essentials Curriculum is designed to educate and empower learners of all ages to efficiently manage their resources now and in the future.
You made things very understandable and helped my daughter see things she should be thinking about now and in the future. She was very comfortable with you and said she felt more confident as a result of realizing she can comprehend (the dreaded) financial information.
Northern Trust Client
Since 2018



Kids and Money
Director of Family Education & Governance Amy Szostak and Director of Women & Wealth Steph Wagner discuss how parents can prepare their children to effectively manage wealth in the future through modeling behavior, leveraging teachable moments and financial education.
Kids and Money
3 min
How Our Essentials Program Works
DESIGN A CUSTOM FINANCIAL EDUCATION PROGRAM FOR YOUR FAMILY

Private, in person or virtual sessions
Learn in a low-pressure environment and ask questions without reservation.

Customized Curriculum
Personalized learning experiences are tailored to your family’s unique learning objectives and needs.

Practical Life Skills
Gain valuable financial knowledge through real life examples and useful take aways

Multigenerational Learning
Empowers learners of all ages on the basics of personal finance. Recommended for ages 16-96.



Essentials Curriculum
Explore our curriculum of Essentials courses to build a financial education plan that addresses knowledge gaps and prepares your family to effectively manage wealth.
Personal Finance Education
Financial Concepts
Understand the time value of money, interest rates, inflation and the power of compounding.
Spending and Saving
Develop a plan for spending and saving that aligns with your values and goals.
Credit
Learn why credit is important, how to use credit cards responsibly and how to build credit.
Income Taxes
Understand the basics of taxable income and how it applies to your financial picture.
Buying a Home
Understand the basics of home buying and steps needed to achieve this goal.
Insurance
Learn about types of insurance and considerations for determining the right coverage for you.
Information Security and Identity Protection
Explore strategies to protect against cybersecurity risks and responsibly manage your social media presence.
Investing Education
Fundamentals of Investing
Understand the fundamentals of investing, including the relationship between risk and return, volatility, asset classes and the importance of diversification.
Retirement Accounts
Understand the importance of saving for retirement, the differences between retirement accounts and how to avoid common mistakes.
Markets and Asset Class Performance
Dive deeper into asset class performance, the importance of a long-term outlook and common investor mistakes.
Psychology and Money
Money and Meaning
Facilitate a healthy dialogue around wealth and explore how your relationship to money impacts financial decisions.
Behavioral Finance
Learn how emotions impact financial behavior and how to avoid common behavioral finance mistakes.
Couples and Money
Discover how you and your partner’s money stories influence your relationship and learn strategies for building your shared financial future.
Wealth Planning
Estate Planning Basics
Understand considerations around your will, trusts and powers of attorney to help you create your estate plan.
Trusts
Learn trust fundamentals, such as the roles and responsibilities of grantors, trustees and beneficiaries.
Transfer Taxes
Better understand how gift, estate and generation-skipping transfer taxes work in practice.
Pre-Marital Planning
Learn the fundamentals of prenuptial agreements.
Philanthropy Essentials
Engaging the Rising Generation in Philanthropy
Explore ways to bridge the gap and bring the next generation of philanthropists into shared giving opportunities.
Nonprofit Research and Due Diligence
Discover research methods and best practices to properly evaluate your next charitable endeavor.
Choosing the Right Charitable Vehicle
Understand charitable giving considerations, giving strategies and various tax strategies for philanthropy.
Crafting a Charitable Mission Statement
Learn the key components needed to create your vision, mission and values around philanthropy.
Business Essentials
Entrepreneurship 101
Learn the fundamentals of what it takes to successfully launch your own business.
Private Equity
Explore the basics of private equity and how to leverage this asset class as an investing strategy.
Financial Statements and Valuation
Understand the basics of reading cash flow statements, balance sheets, income statements and business valuations.
Why Northern Trust
The Right Expertise, When You Need It
Years
We have advised generations of wealthy families, for generations. There is no wealth management challenge we have not seen and solved for time and time again.
Best Private Bank
Our longstanding commitment to service excellence is exemplified through consistent recognition by the Financial Times Group as the Best Private Bank 13 of the last 16 years.
Specialty Areas
Your dedicated team across banking, trust & estates, wealth planning and investing is also backed by a deep bench of experts across 40+ specialty areas.
Services
A breadth of services to help your family manage wealth
Connect with an advisor to schedule your one-on-one education session.



The Northern Trust Institute
Money Masterclass
Make informed decisions by building your knowledge on financial concepts and principles.
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