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SEI
N
reductions rather than the starting point. It is probably unfair
ow one of the biggest administrators in the world in terms
too. SEI may be willing to forfeit business on grounds of price,
of both assets under administration and the number of
but the firm has certainly not escaped the downward pressure
funds serviced, SEI competes for the business of the largest
on fees in the fund administration industry.
managers. Some have responded to this survey, though
the
Weighted
average average
scores scores
respondents come from virtually all points on Weighted
the spectrum.
2016
5.49
2016
5.49
2016 2016 2017 2017 2018 2018
Their collective verdict is a solid rather than spectacular
set
2017
5.67
2017
5.67
5.49 5.49 5.67 5.67
5.7 5.7
PROFILE OF RESPONDENTS
of scores, in which all services are judged along a relatively
2018 2018
5.7 5.7
narrow spectrum. This is a predictable consequence of servicing
larger and more sophisticated clients, whose Respondent
high Respondent
expectations
profile profile
Large
fund more
By size
By location
Large fund
are not leavened by a sense of gratitude. Nowhere
is this
20% 20%
managers
managers
obvious than in the score for on-boarding, where
a respecta-
Medium-
ble score is much harder to achieve when an Medium-
administrator
is
20%
20%
sized fund
sized fund
44% 44%
transitioning on to its platform a large and complex
multi-asset
Americas
managers
36%
Large
ma nagers
36%
44%
class fund distributed in more than one jurisdiction.
Small But
fund in
Europe and
44%
Small fund
Medium
36%
managers
56%
competing for business of that kind SEI retains
the
advantag- 36%
managers
56%
Middle East
Small
Americas
es of both a distinctive corporate character, an
increasingly
Americas
56% 56%
Asia
44%
Europe
and what
44%
and and
valuable independence of the major banking Europe
groups,
44% 44%
Middle
East
East
one respondent describes as the “high calibre Middle
of employees.”
Asia
0%
Its network of operations, which now service Asia
clients from the 0%
Bahamas, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands,
India, scores by service area
Weighted
Weighted
average average
scores by service area
Ireland, Jersey, London and Luxembourg as well as the United
Weighted
+/-
the global
Weighted
average scores
Weighted
global
States, may not be truly global (it lacks an Asian
dimension),
but +/- the
Service
Service
area area average
score average
average score average
it is nevertheless extensive enough for most managers based in
2016
2017
2018
North America and Europe.
Client
service
5.67
5.69
Client service
5.69 5.69 5.49
-5.50% -5.50%
In the details of the scoring, it is no surprise to find SEI doing
On-boarding
5.78
1.20%
On-boarding
5.78
1.20%
best in exactly the areas its combination of people
and technol-
Fund Fund
5.99 -3.50% -3.50%
ogy dictates that it should: operations, cyber-security
and
most
5.99
accounting
accounting
varieties of reporting. The SEI Investor Dashboard
– where in-
Investor
Investor
5.66 5.66 Weighted
-6.70% -6.70%
average scores by service area
services and fund
vestors can retrieve fund documents and both
account
services
to
level data, including NAVs, but managers can Reporting
still Reporting
control
who
to
Service area
Weighted
+/- the global
5.82 5.82 -3.30% -3.30%
investors
investors
sees what – clearly impresses clients. Curiously,
assessments
average score
average
Reporting
to
Reporting
to funds
of the Manager Dashboard, which aims to offer
hedge
5.4
-7.80%
5.4
-7.80%
Client
service
5.69
-5.4%
managers
managers
customisable packets of forward- as well as backward-looking
Reporting
to
On-boarding
5.78
1.2%
Reporting
to
information, does not attract as much enthusiasm. regulators
But interac-
5.92 5.92 -1.70% -1.70%
regulators
Fund accounting
5.99
-3.4%
tions with auditors are working smoothly. Though Reporting
one respond-
to
Reporting to
ent says his firm internalised the process after
“a
couple
of
bad
the
tax
5.11
-14.50%
Investor
services
5.66
-6.7%
the tax
5.11
-14.50%
authorities
audits in 2013-14,” a second client writes that authorities
“they
do a great
Reporting
to investors
5.82
-3.3%
Reporting
to of
job interfacing with our audit teams.” In the core
services
Reporting
to
5.8 -4.70% -4.70%
5.8
auditors
Reporting
to
managers
5.40
-7.8%
auditors scores hint
fund accounting and investor services, the average
AML
at work still to do. One client is full of praise KYC,
for AML
a KYC,
“great
fund
Reporting to regulators
5.92
-1.8%
and and
5.8 -4.20% -4.20%
accounting team – very helpful!” But a second one,
who shadows
5.8
sanctions
Reporting
to
the
tax
authorities
5.11
-14.5%
sanctions
screening
the work of SEI in preparing the monthly NAVs,
says
that he is
screening
Reporting to auditors
5.80
-4.7%
Depositary
“finding a few errors each month,” and cites a Depositary
concrete
example.
-9.50%
5.42 5.42 KYC,
-9.50%
services
AML
and
sanctions
screening
5.80
-3.8%
Staff turnover is the issue cited by a third respondent.
“From the
services
fund accounting side, we have one individual who performs all
Depositary services
5.42
-9.7%
SEI reporting functions,” he writes. “The person responsible has
Corporate secretarial services
N/A
N/A
changed a number of times over the past few years.” A fourth cli-
Middle office services
5.78
-1.4%
ent cites variation in talent. “Manager is strong accountant,” he
Banking
services
N/A
N/A
says. “Middle level day-to-day manager [is] not so strong [an] ac-
countant.” There is a similar observation by another client about
Operations
6.11
-0.2%
investor services. “Calibre of employees is not quite as high as
Cyber-security
5.87
-1.9%
the calibre of the employees that handle the fund accounting,”
Price
5.15
-11.5%
he writes. As in 2017, SEI is also seen as a relatively expensive
provider. The detail suggests the issue lies in resistance to price
Total
5.69
-4.9%
66
Global Custodian
The Hedge Fund Annual 2018