SEI Enhances Goals-Based Strategic Portfolios With Addition of Absolute Return Strategies

LONDON, Nov. 30, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- SEI (Nasdaq: SEIC) today announced the addition of absolute return strategies to their goals-based strategic portfolios with the aim of delivering further diversification and exposure to long-term capital growth whilst reducing risk.

In addition to existing asset classes, such as equity, fixed income, liquidity and property, SEI has added a portfolio of absolute return strategies – Equity Long/Short, Equity Market Neutral, Credit Long/Short, and Global Macro funds – which use the full investment capabilities of UCITS III. SEI's alternative investment team manages US $2 billion and has an average 14 years experience. They use SEI's Manager-of-Managers process to select, combine, and monitor some of the world's leading absolute return investment managers.

The SEI strategic portfolios are seven funds that embrace SEI's goals-based investment philosophy, which combines modern portfolio theory with behavioral finance. Designed to meet a wide range of investor risk profiles and financial goals, the portfolios aim to help advisers provide tailored client recommendations with a scalable, risk-managed investment solution and process.

This latest enhancement provides an exposure of up to 10 percent in the Conservative, Moderate, Core, and Balanced portfolios.  Other absolute return strategies may be added in the future to take advantage of opportunities throughout the economic cycle.

Cedric Bucher, Director of Client Investment Strategy, SEI Global Wealth Services, said:

"Absolute return strategies are an excellent addition to the portfolios, providing further opportunity to diversify risk. The universe of UCITS funds that employ absolute return strategies has grown significantly over the past three years, providing the opportunity for broader screening and better portfolio construction in the context of a multi-asset portfolio.

"In order to screen such a diverse universe in terms of quality of strategies and experience of managers, institutional investment process and operational due diligence is critical. With our highly qualified investment team of nearly 100 people, we are able to research in excess of 500 absolute return strategies globally, providing a much broader opportunity than the funds available in the IMA absolute return sector alone.

"SEI has long been at the forefront of providing an innovative approach to building highly diversified portfolios, blending some of the best managers in the world and adjusting allocations when an investment opportunity arises."

Launched in February 2010, the strategic portfolios are specifically designed to provide a business solution for advisory firms and deliver a consistent investor experience in line with their goals. The strategic portfolios now have assets of  78 million pounds sterling, with SEI managing assets in excess of 104 billion pounds globally, as of Sept. 30, 2010.

About SEI's Global Wealth Services

SEI's Global Wealth Services is an outsourcing solution for wealth managers combining wealth processing technology and wealth management programs, coupled with business process expertise. The integrated offering aims to provide wealth management organizations the infrastructure, operations and administrative support necessary to capitalize on their strategic objectives in a constantly shifting market.

About SEI

SEI (Nasdaq: SEIC) is a leading global provider of outsourced asset management, investment processing and investment operations solutions. The company's innovative solutions help corporations, financial institutions, financial advisors, and affluent families create and manage wealth. As of September 30, 2010, through its subsidiaries and partnerships in which the company has a significant interest, SEI administers $402 billion in mutual fund and pooled assets and manages $164 billion in assets. SEI serves clients, conducts or is registered to conduct business and/or operations, from numerous offices worldwide. For more information, visit www.seic.com.

SOURCE SEI