SEI to Expand Reach With $80M Fintech Buy

Al West, chairman and CEO of SEI Investments.

On Wednesday, Oaks-based financial services company SEI Investments announced that it has acquired Indianapolis-based tech firm Archway Technology Partners, a company that provides operating technology and services to the family office industry.

An SEC filing lists a purchase price of $80 million and the company says it expects additional growth earn-outs of up to $8 million later on.

The acquisition will allow SEI, which currently offers clients investment processing and management tools, to expand into the family office market, selling Archway’s technology through its investment manager business segment.

The acquisition also represents a change for the company—one that pulls it away from its traditional perspective on in-house, organic growth. “This announcement represents a modest shift in SEI’s long-held belief in purely organic growth. We believe there is value in growing through carefully considered strategic acquisitions that add to our expanding geographic footprint, market reach, platform functionality and expertise,” said SEI chairman and CEO Alfred P. West Jr. SEI currently manages $779 billion in hedge, private equity, mutual fund and pooled or separately managed assets, with $297 billion in assets under management and $478 billion in client assets under administration. 

According to SEI, Archway has been the dominant provider in the $7 trillion global single and multi-family office services arena, historically dominated by legacy service providers. With 125 employees across its headquarters and regional offices in New York and Denver, the company offers services to more than 200 clients, with $230 billion assets on its platform. A spokesperson for SEI told Philadelphia magazine that the company doesn’t anticipate having to reorganize offices as a result of the acquisition, though its currently undergoing feasibility assessments to determine how to potentially expand into property adjacent to the Oaks space.

“Joining SEI will help us provide the next level of institutional-quality, state-of-the-art solutions to the family office and wealth management marketplace,” said Archway CEO Jason Brown. Archway will be fully integrated into SEI by October 2017.

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