Multiple Award-Winning Berry Strikes Strategic Administration Partnership Agreement With SEI to Underpin Market-Leading Client Support Services

Download as PDF

LONDON -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 01/03/12 -- Private client wealth manager Berry Asset Management PLC ('Berry'), confirmed today that it has struck a strategic administration partnership agreement with SEI (NASDAQ: SEIC). This development will ensure Berry is well positioned to maintain its consistently high quality customer service offering, which has seen the firm win numerous industry awards for the quality of its client reporting over the years.

Commenting on the administration partnership, Berry Asset Management Chief Executive Officer, Jamie MacLeod, said: "As wealth managers we are working in a fast-moving and ever-evolving environment. SEI is a world leader in the field of administration services, working with some of the highest quality and best known names in the world of Financial Services, so this is great news for our current clients, and for our future clients. By investing in SEI's market-leading technologies, and working in close collaboration, we can focus on our core activity, managing assets (and investment reporting) for High Net Worth Individuals and supporting our introducers, whilst SEI delivers some, but not all, of the administration support function.

"Our partnership with SEI represents a very significant investment in time and financial resource for our business, and it makes good sense for Berry to deploy its resources in this way. SEI offers industry leading portfolio management support tools, with highly impressive management reporting facilities, and is capable of catering for the highly tailored aspects of our business. We are confident that the benefits derived from entering into this collaboration will be considerable. The transition to SEI will be seamless for our clients and for introducers, and the partnership will deliver a platform on which we can expand our offering, whilst continuing to deliver a first class service -- something we are widely known and respected for. This is the right choice for our clients, introducers and for Berry staff, and we are all enthused at the prospect of working further with the SEI team having spent the last year getting to know them."

Ryan Hicke, Managing Director of SEI's Global Wealth Services in the U.K., said: "Berry is a widely respected, award-winning brand in the UK wealth management space, which exemplifies client service and investment excellence. We have worked closely over the past year with both their client teams and executive teams to jointly develop a model where Global Wealth Services can provide an infrastructure to deliver to Berry's current premium levels. We are excited to be a partner in Berry's continued success. This relationship is another positive signal to the market of the growing acceptance of Global Wealth Services for UK Private Client Managers serving HNW clients."

NOTES TO EDITORS

1. Berry Asset Management PLC
Berry Asset Management PLC ('Berry') was established in 1981 as an independent wealth management boutique, and was a pioneer of the multi-asset and multi-manager approach to private client investment management. Berry is a majority owned subsidiary of the innovative and dynamic Bordier & Cie, an international Geneva-based global private banking group, established in 1844 and a member of the four-strong Geneva Private Bankers Association. The firm is located on Pall Mall, St James's at the heart of London's wealth management district.

A privately held company, 30% of the Company's equity rests with its UK management - Jamie MacLeod, Chief Executive Officer of Berry and a member of Bordier & Cie's Group Management Board acquired a 20% stake in the business in September 2010. The firm is part of a Group which:

  • manages total AUM in excess of £6bn
  • employs circa 200 staff globally, in private banking and asset management services
  • is regulated in numerous jurisdictions, by bodies which include the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA), the Financial Services Authority (FSA) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore

Despite the firm's low-risk investment approach, Berry has consistently achieved benchmark-beating positive returns.

Industry recognition
The firm has been recognized for the quality of its service and levels of client satisfaction with a number of awards from leading industry organizations over the years, and was most recently declared 'Boutique Wealth Management Firm of the Year 2011' at the prestigious 'Spear's Wealth Management Awards'.

In March, the firm received the award for 'Quality and Clarity of Reporting' at the equally prestigious 'PAM (Private Asset Managers) Awards'.

For more information visit: www.berry.co.uk

2. About SEI's Global Wealth Services
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.

At the heart of the solution lies the Global Wealth Platform, which supports trading and transactions on 100 stock exchanges in 53 countries and 31 currencies, all using straight-through processing.

For more information visit: http://www.seic.com/enUS/private-banks.htm

3. About SEI
SEI (NASDAQ: SEIC) is a leading global provider of investment processing, fund processing, and investment management business outsourcing solutions that help corporations, financial institutions, financial advisers, and ultra-high-net-worth families create and manage wealth. As of 30 September 2011, through its subsidiaries and partnerships in which the company has a significant interest, SEI manages or administers $395 billion in mutual fund and pooled assets or separately managed assets, including $162 billion in assets under management and $233 billion in client assets under administration.

For more information visit: www.seic.com.

4. Risk Warning
This information does not constitute an offer of or an invitation to buy or sell any security and is for information purposes only. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results. The value of an investment and any income from it may fall as well as rise, may be affected by exchange rate fluctuations and you may not get back the amount you originally invested. While the performance of bonds, gilts and other fixed interest securities may be less volatile than equities there is a risk that their relative yield and the capital values may be reduced by factors such as rising interest rates. Levels and bases of tax can change.

This information is deemed to be reliable; however, it has not been independently verified. This information does not provide individually tailored advice and has not been prepared with regard to the individual financial circumstances and objectives of persons who receive it.

Issued by Berry Asset Management PLC of 79 Pall Mall, London SW1Y 5ES. Berry Asset Management PLC is authorized and regulated by the Financial Services Authority, 25 The North Colonnade, Canary Wharf, London, E14 5HS. Incorporated in England No. 1583393.

Source: SEI

Released January 3, 2012