Good morning. I'm Michael O'Grady, and it is my pleasure to welcome you to Northern Trust's 2024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, which I hereby call to order. Thank you for joining us virtually this morning. We greatly appreciate your participation. Before we begin, a few housekeeping items. In accordance with the corporation's bylaws, I will act as Chairman of the meeting. The agenda and rules of conduct for this meeting are available in the web portal through which you access the meeting. Please note that only validated stockholders may submit questions through the web portal. Questions about items on the agenda should be submitted at or before the time they are considered at the meeting. Following adjournment of the formal meeting, a question-and-answer session will be provided to address appropriate general questions regarding the corporation.
Joining me for today's meeting are the following: Brad Kopetsky, our corporate secretary, who will act as secretary of the meeting, the members of our board of directors and management group, and Jason Jacobs and Amy Kloppenburg, who are representatives of KPMG LLP, our independent registered public accounting firm. During the question-and-answer period later this morning, these representatives of KPMG will be available to respond to appropriate questions. The record date for this meeting was February 26, 2024. Brad has informed me that notice of the meeting and proxy materials were mailed on or about March 6 to stockholders of record on the record date. Jennifer Childe has been appointed as Inspector of Election for this meeting. She has inspected the proxies and reported that approximately 92% of the total shares of common stock outstanding on the record date are represented by proxies at this meeting.
Accordingly, a quorum is present and the meeting is duly constituted. It is 10:32 A.M., and the polls are now open for voting. All stockholders entitled to vote at this meeting have the ability to do so through the web portal. If you're a stockholder entitled to vote and have not yet done so, or if you want to change your previously cast vote, please do so via the web portal. Please remember that if you have already voted by proxy, it is not necessary to vote again. After voting has been completed on all matters on the agenda, we will close the polls, and the Inspector of Election will provide her preliminary report. I now turn to the four items of business on the agenda, all of which are described in detail in the Proxy Statement. The first item of business is the election of 11 directors.
I would like to introduce our current directors, each of whom is participating in the meeting this morning and, along with me, is a nominee for election: Linda Walker Bynoe; Susan Crown; Dean Harrison; Jay Henderson; Marcy Klevorn; Bobby Mehta; Martin Slark; David H.B. Smith Jr.; Don Thompson; Charles Tribbett . Biographical information with respect to each of the nominees can be found in our Proxy Statement. I also would like to introduce Lord Charles Powell, who serves as an advisory director to the board. Lord Powell is a non-party member of the House of Lords and former private secretary and advisor on foreign affairs and defense to Prime Ministers Margaret Thatcher and John Major. Lord Powell has served as an advisory director since 2015. I would also like to thank our directors for their service and commitment to the success of Northern Trust.
I would also like to acknowledge José Luis Prado, who is retiring from the board today after having served as a director since 2012. We're incredibly thankful for José Luis and his significant contributions to Northern Trust over the past 12 years. Finally, I would like to thank the officers who currently serve with me on Northern Trust's management group, each of whom is participating in the meeting this morning. I could not ask for a more dedicated leadership team and am grateful for their tireless effort day in and day out to create long-term value for our stakeholders. Turning back to today's agenda, the second item of business is approval by an advisory vote of the named executive officer compensation disclosed in the Proxy Statement. This item is commonly referred to as a Say-on-Pay proposal. The board of directors recommends a vote for this proposal.
The third item of business is the ratification of the appointment of KPMG LLP as the corporation's independent registered public accounting firm for 2024. The corporation's audit committee made the appointment, and the board of directors recommends ratification of the appointment. I will now ask Brad to present a motion to nominate the slate of directors and approve each of the foregoing proposals.
Mr. Chairman, I move for nomination of the directors, approval of the Say-on-Pay resolution, and ratification of the appointment of KPMG LLP. All of the foregoing motions have been seconded by proxy.
Thank you, Brad. The fourth item of business is the consideration of a stockholder proposal to ascertain voting preferences. I would like to remind our stockholders that after considering the stockholder proposal, the board of directors unanimously recommended a vote against the proposal for the reasons discussed in the proxy statement. If the proposing stockholder or his authorized representative is in attendance today to present the stockholder proposal, please state your name once the operator has opened the participant line for you to speak.
Thank you. This is Jim McRitchie. The board's proposal number four seeks a report on reputational and financial risks to our company due to misalignment between its proxy votes and client preferences, as well as strategies for addressing such misalignments on essential issues. The board argues they are giving shareholders what we want, so there's no need for such a report. They aren't. Investors want funds to consider our preferences when voting proxies. Alternatively, we want help creating our own self-executing proxy voting policies. Northern Trust's position boils down to, "We're doing the voting. If you don't like it, you can vote your own." Imagine trying to wade through hundreds of proxies on your own and trying to vote each one intelligently. Personally, I couldn't do it without my proxy advisors.
Our company says they're working to expand options to enlist or to enable clients to select from a menu of proxy voting options. I negotiated and withdrew similar proposals submitted to BlackRock and State Street. They're already providing a menu of voting options to their customers and are in the process of delving deeper into investor voting preferences. Northern Trust is more noncommittal. It isn't clear if they're even contemplating a system that will come anywhere close to aligning with client preferences, such as offering a voting policy that seeks to maximize portfolio value instead of the value of each company. There's a difference. Read the book Moving Beyond Modern Portfolio Theory or check out the nonprofit group, The Shareholder Commons. Keep this issue on the table. Don't let directors who have underperformed the market for the last one -year, two-year, five-year, and 10-year periods off the hook.
Tailored proxy voting options could challenge portfolio managers at Northern Trust to be more creative in issuer engagements, portfolio construction, and alignment with customer values. Feedback loops should drive up performance. Higher returns and votes better aligned with our values? Who could be against it other than an underperforming board? Please vote in favor of proposal four and hope that the company gives you time to vote after I finish this presentation, which is now. Thank you.
Thank you for attending this meeting. We appreciate your perspectives. I will now request the second of the motion.
Mr. Chairman, I second the motion.
Please submit any questions or comments regarding any of the proposals to the web portal if you have not already done so. We will now proceed to vote on the items of business on this morning's agenda. Any stockholder who has not yet voted or wishes to change his or her vote may do so through the web portal. If you have already voted, you do not need to vote at this meeting. I'll now pause to give a chance for votes or changes in votes. Since there is no further business on the agenda, the voting portion of the meeting is over. It is 10:40 A.M., and the polls are now closed. I'd now like to call for a report from the Inspector of Election on the voting results.
Mr. Chairman, each of the director nominees named in the proxy statement received the affirmative vote of a majority of the votes cast with respect to his or her election. Approximately 95% of the shares present and entitled to vote were voted in favor of approval of the named executive officer compensation disclosed in the proxy statement. The ratification of the appointment of KPMG LLP received the affirmative vote of approximately 97% of the shares present and entitled to vote. And finally, the stockholder proposal to ascertain voting preferences received the affirmative vote of approximately 6% of the shares present and entitled to vote.
Thank you, Jennifer. All nominees have been duly elected, and each of the proposals, except for the stockholder proposal to ascertain voting preferences, have passed. This concludes the formal portion of the meeting. Now I will provide a brief report on the company's business. The last several years have demonstrated how it is less important to be able to predict the future than it is to be prepared for whatever might happen, and 2023 was no different. The events of the past year underscored, once again, the critical importance of resiliency. In the world of finance, where change is constant and challenges are plentiful, the ability to weather storms and consistently be a beacon of strength is not a luxury, it's a necessity. Throughout our 135-year history, Northern Trust has forged a reputation for strength and stability.
Our unwavering commitment to our principles of service, expertise, and integrity, and mission of being our client's most trusted financial partner, have been and will continue to remain persistent. However, our success over time has also been rooted in our ability to change to meet the demands, risks, and expectations of a rapidly evolving world. Our financial performance in 2023 reflected both a challenging underlying macroeconomic backdrop and execution against our strategic priorities. Our total revenue was flat relative to the prior year, as robust growth and net interest income was offset by softer trust fees and capital markets revenue. Total expenses increased 6% or 5%, excluding $162 million in charges related to steps we are taking to reduce our cost structure. While this reflects the significant improvement over 2022 expense growth levels, it remains elevated, and further reducing the expense growth rate continues to be a top priority.
Net income and earnings per share were both down 17%, and return on average common equity was 10% or 12.4%, excluding the charges mentioned. Our capital levels remain strong, with all capital ratios far exceeding those required for classification as well-capitalized under federal bank regulatory capital requirements. Importantly, we also maintain a very liquid balance sheet, which serves as a key differentiator. In 2023, we returned $978 million to common shareholders in the form of quarterly dividends of $630 million and share repurchases of $348 million. Northern Trust is well-positioned not only to navigate in this uncertain environment but to thrive. Our three businesses compete effectively in attractive sectors of the financial services industry: wealth management, asset management, and asset servicing, and each continues to have significant runway for growth.
Our wealth management business is one of the largest providers of advisory services in the United States, with a focus on high-net-worth individuals and families, executives, and privately held businesses. We are particularly excited about the growth trajectory of our family office and ultra-high-net-worth segments. In both segments, we have large and strong franchises, excellent brand recognition, and differentiated capabilities. Our asset management business delivers investment solutions globally for clients in our asset servicing and wealth management businesses and is one of the top 20 largest global asset managers. Investment management solutions span active and index-based solutions across equity, fixed income, cash management, multi-asset, and alternative assets. Our asset management strategy is focused on the specific client segments and solutions where we have a long-term track record of delivering risk-adjusted investment outperformance and can successfully compete and win.
For example, with approximately $100 billion in assets under management, our tax-advantaged equity business is one of the top three largest platforms in the market and has grown by 17% annually for the past five years. Our asset servicing business is a leading global provider of custody, fund administration, and related services to institutional investors around the globe. We will continue to prioritize the growth of scalable services and products in our asset servicing business, such as our Front Office Solutions offering, which came into 2024 with significant sales momentum. This award-winning product provides a full suite of portfolio analytics, performance measurement, and research management tools to sophisticated asset owner clients. To exceed your expectations and those of all stakeholders, we are focused on becoming a more consistently high-performing company that is increasingly resilient, efficient, and profitable.
We will achieve this through the execution of our refined One Northern Trust strategy, which reflects a shared vision of how we can deliver for our clients and all our stakeholders by working in tight coordination and synchronization across the entire company. Our One Northern Trust strategy is comprised of three intertwined objectives. The first strategic objective is to optimize growth. We are among a select few financial services organizations that are exclusively focused on providing integrated, holistic solutions for all our clients' investment needs. Our three interrelated businesses not only compete in attractive and growing sectors but also create a differentiated set of capabilities through their combination. Our go-to-market strategy holistically delivers our capabilities across segments, which both deepens client relationships and enhances the client experience. Our approach also focuses on optimizing the composition and nature of growth from our three businesses.
We aim to accelerate the growth of our wealth management and asset management businesses and, as mentioned, increase our focus on delivering scalable solutions in our asset servicing business. Our second strategic priority is to strengthen our resiliency. Northern Trust plays a critical role in the global financial system, facilitating the efficient allocation of capital, managing risks, and promoting economic growth. Market participants and regulators look to us to have the strongest risk management and controls possible for the benefit of our clients, the health of our industry, and the stability of the global economy. Resiliency signifies our ability to prevent internal stress, recover from external stress, and thrive in altered circumstances. In other words, it's about consistently outperforming in both business-as-usual and stressed market conditions. Resiliency as a concept is not new to us. It is part of our core value proposition to clients.
However, the bar is rising due to the pace of change in the environment in which we operate and the increasing expectations of our stakeholders. To meet these challenges, we are building our historical strengths to ensure that our risks and controls can confidently identify, assess, and mitigate potential risks both now and in the future. Our third strategic priority is to drive productivity. Ongoing productivity improvements are crucial for delivering greater value to clients, maximizing operational efficiency, and achieving long-term profitability. Generating efficiencies across our company also allows us to create capacity to invest in our businesses and talent, to help offset inflationary pressures, and to reduce expense growth. The firm realized more than $100 million in productivity savings in 2023, largely driven by workforce, vendor, and general operating efficiency efforts. Driving further productivity gains across the enterprise remains a top priority.
To bring our strategic objectives to fruition, we will continue to invest in three core capabilities: talent, technology, and data. It is the synergy between these three areas that drives our growth, ensures our resiliency, and enhances our productivity. We understand the importance of investing in our employees, as they form the foundation of our organization. Our exceptional and diverse teams around the world support our client relationships, fuel our innovation, and drive our productivity. As the standard for technological innovation continues to rise in our industry, we are continually investing in digital and modern workplace capabilities to complement our human touch. We aim to redefine the constructive collaboration between people, processes, and technology to accelerate and scale our resiliency and end-to-end client and employee experiences. In 2023, we put to work several innovative ideas leveraging the emerging artificial intelligence tools that have taken most industries by storm.
These are early-stage activities, but the learning from this work, as well as the eventual benefits from implementation, ensure we will be prepared to exploit this exciting new technology as it matures. Data drives everything we do. We have long recognized the importance of being intentional about how we collect, store, access, and protect data, which will ensure that our employees have the information they need to deliver their best while providing our clients with a seamless and personalized experience. To achieve this, we have embarked on a data monetization journey, employing leading practices through a data mesh approach. Our core capabilities run parallel with our approach to sustainability. Protecting the environment, ensuring long-term governance practices, and promoting equity and inclusion are all essential elements of our culture. Since our founding, Northern Trust has prioritized giving back to the communities in which we live and work.
We also encourage our employees to volunteer in meaningful ways by providing two paid days off per year to participate in volunteer work. In 2023, our employees provided over 106,000 hours of volunteer service to over 2,000 charities worldwide. Lastly, we continue to take action to reduce our total carbon footprint as we progress towards our commitment to achieve net-zero emissions for our business operations by 2050. In this ever-changing landscape, we understand that challenges and opportunities go hand in hand. We have seen firsthand how resilience and adaptability can turn adversity into achievement. Underpinned by our enduring principles of service, expertise, and integrity, our One Northern Trust strategy is our compass, guiding us towards delivering exceptional value to our clients and sustained improvements in our financial performance.
I have the privilege of working with an extremely driven and experienced management team and approximately 23,000 talented employees and partners who are dedicated to exceeding the expectations of our clients. It is their indomitable spirit that defines us and will propel us forward, driving us to new heights of success. I'm humbled and immensely grateful to our clients and shareholders who continue to place their trust in us. We understand the weight of this responsibility and are committed to earning that trust anew each day. We are honored to have you by our side as we forge ahead, shaping the future of the company. We will now have a brief question-and-answer period during which I would be happy to answer any questions you may have. As a reminder, representatives from KPMG also are available to answer appropriate questions.
Please follow the instructions provided in the web portal to submit questions and remain mindful of related guidelines provided in the rules of conduct.
Okay, Mike, we have one question that's come in at this point. It reads, "The company has in place a director resignation governance policy that provides the board post-election discretion to determine whether to accept or reject the resignation of an incumbent director who fails to be reelected. Does the policy undermine the voting rights of shareholders by allowing the board to have the final say on the unelected director's status?"
Thank you, Brad. This question touches on the majority voting standard that we have in place in our bylaws, which states that if a director nominee fails to receive a majority of votes cast, that director will tender his or her resignation for consideration of the board.
As you may know, we enacted this majority voting provision several years ago as an alternative to the standard plurality voting standard that is in place under Delaware law as our state of incorporation. The intention of the provision is actually to better enfranchise our shareholders, as without it, a director running unopposed could be elected to the board even with minimal stockholder support. Thus, the intention of the provision is to provide the board with an opportunity to fully consider the election of any nominee not receiving majority support of stockholders in light of particular circumstances to ensure their election is in the best interest of the corporation and its stockholders. We understand these provisions to generally be considered best practice in the industry. Seeing no further questions, we will now bring this meeting to a close. Thank you for attending the 2024 annual meeting of stockholders.
This now concludes the.