SEI Wealth Platform UK Records Strong First Half of 2017

SEI (NASDAQ:SEIC) announced today that its U.K. Private Banking business increased assets under administration (AUA) by £6.2bn, or 20 percent, in the first half of this year, taking total AUA to £37.9bni.
Providing outsourced investment processing technology for leading private banks and wealth management firms through the SEI Wealth PlatformSM (the Platform), SEI’s U.K. Private Banking business hit several milestones in the first half of 2017. Over the course of this period, the Platform hit 300,000 end-clients for the first time, while more than 750,000 buy-and-sell trades were made each month. SEI also added three new clients in addition to completing the successful on-boarding of WHIreland and contract extension with Tilney Bestinvest to 2023.
From an industry perspective, SEI’s data reveals that the 2017 ISA season was much stronger when compared to 2016. Together, with financial markets bolstering strong investor sentiment and investments continuing at a higher rate over the summer, asset flows onto the Platform were up 50 percent versus flows from clients this time last year.
Martin Steer, Commercial Director, SEI Wealth Platform, U.K. Private Banking, commented:
“The first half of this year has seen some uncertainty creep into the broader market, so it is very pleasing to see another period of strong growth for the Platform. Notably, we fully completed the
WHIreland on-boarding, while extending a key, long-term relationship with Tilney Bestinvest. We look forward to adding more clients in the coming months.
“While wealth managers have much to consider when reviewing their business models in the current climate, there are great opportunities in the market. However, with regulatory pressure mounting and a client desire for a multi-channel experience, we believe it is becoming a question of when – not if – to outsource non-core functions. Our objective is to ensure that our clients are able to navigate through these minefields whilst minimising cost and mitigating risk, and we feel well-positioned to capitalise on opportunities in the second half of 2017 and beyond.”