Aquiline to Acquire SEI's Family Office Services Business

Rhea-AI Summary

SEI (NASDAQ:SEIC) has announced a definitive agreement to sell its Family Office Services business to Aquiline, a private investment firm, for $120 million. The transaction is expected to close in late Q2 2025.

Post-acquisition, the business will operate as Archway, leveraging its established platform brand in the family office market. The Archway Platform, which had $723 billion in assets as of December 31, 2024, provides technology and outsourced services for accounting, investment management, and reporting functions for ultra-high-net-worth families.

The deal includes the transition of Family Office Services employees from SEI's Indianapolis, Denver, and Oaks offices, including core leadership team members. The acquisition aims to further invest and extend the platform's capabilities under Aquiline's ownership.

Positive

• Sale generates $120 million in cash proceeds
• Clean exit from non-core business unit
• Strategic alignment with company's growth focus

Negative

• Loss of $723B in assets on platform
• Reduction in business diversification
• Loss of established family office services team

Insights

Financial Analyst

SEI Investments Company (SEIC) has entered a definitive agreement to sell its Family Office Services business to Aquiline for $120 million, with the transaction expected to close in late Q2 2025. Following the acquisition, the business will operate under the Archway brand, leveraging its established reputation in the family office market.

This divestiture represents a strategic portfolio refinement for SEI, which appears to be concentrating resources on higher-growth segments within its diversified financial services business. While the Archway Platform manages an impressive $723 billion in assets, the company explicitly notes this figure "is not indicative of potential revenue" - suggesting the business unit likely contributes a relatively modest portion to SEI's overall financial performance.

The $120 million transaction value represents approximately 1.2% of SEI's $10.1 billion market capitalization, indicating this is not a core business segment for the company. For Aquiline, a private investment firm specializing in financial services technology, this acquisition aligns perfectly with their strategic focus and provides an established platform with significant growth potential in the ultra-high-net-worth segment.

The transaction includes the transfer of the business's core leadership team and employees from multiple SEI locations, ensuring operational continuity for existing clients while providing Aquiline with the expertise needed to expand the platform's capabilities.

This move follows an industry trend where financial services firms are streamlining operations to focus on core competencies while specialized investors like Aquiline can provide focused attention and investment to accelerate growth in niche technology platforms serving wealth management.

Wealth Management Technology Expert

Aquiline's acquisition of SEI's Family Office Services business represents a strategic realignment in the specialized family office technology sector. The decision to revive the Archway brand name acknowledges the platform's strong market recognition prior to SEI's acquisition of the business in 2017.

The $723 billion in assets on the platform demonstrates significant market penetration in the ultra-high-net-worth segment, though the explicit disclaimer that this figure "is not indicative of potential revenue" reveals the business operates on a software/service fee model rather than an asset-based revenue structure. This explains why a platform handling such substantial assets is being acquired for $120 million.

For Aquiline, this acquisition fits perfectly within their portfolio strategy. With previous successful investments in wealth management technology firms like Envestnet and Financeware, Aquiline brings specialized expertise in scaling financial technology platforms. Their commitment to "further invest and extend the platform" signals potential acceleration in product development and feature enhancement.

The family office technology landscape has seen increasing competition from players like Addepar, FundCount, and Allvue Systems. Archway's comprehensive general ledger capabilities remain a differentiating strength, particularly for complex multi-entity family structures requiring sophisticated partnership accounting and tax reporting.

For SEI, this divestiture allows reallocation of resources toward higher-growth opportunities within their core investment processing and asset management businesses. The retention of key leadership and technical staff through the transition should minimize disruption for existing clients while preserving the institutional knowledge critical to serving this sophisticated market segment.

PHILADELPHIA and OAKS, Pa., Feb. 27, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Aquiline, a private investment firm specializing in financial services and technology, and SEI^® (NASDAQ:SEIC) today announced that the companies have entered into a definitive agreement for Aquiline to acquire SEI's Family Office Services business. Following the transaction's close, the business will operate as Archway, capitalizing on the well-known and respected brand of the Archway Platform^SM within the family office market.

SEI's Family Office Services business delivers technology and outsourced services that connect and power the accounting, investment management, and reporting functions of family offices and family office divisions of financial intermediaries. SEI's Archway Platform is designed to streamline family office operations and deliver advanced financial reporting for ultra-high-net-worth families. As of Dec. 31, 2024, SEI's Family Office Services business had $723 billion in assets on the Archway Platform.¹

As part of the transaction, Family Office Services employees in SEI's Indianapolis, Denver, and Oaks offices, including members of the Family Office Services business' core leadership team, will transition with the business.

Commenting on the opportunity, Vincenzo La Ruffa, Managing Partner at Aquiline, said:

"The Archway Platform has long been the premier provider of accounting and reporting software solutions to family offices across the country. Its powerful general ledger engine can support the most complex families, and we are excited to further invest and extend the platform. We are delighted to be partnering with SEI, a leader in the financial services industry who has shepherded this business for nearly a decade."

Sandy Ewing, Head of SEI's Family Office Services business, added:

"As part of SEI's broader growth strategy, we're committed to investing in the areas of our business where we believe we can drive growth, and for more than seven years, we've made substantial investments in the solutions and capabilities we deliver for the family office segment. Our talented team has worked tirelessly to build and grow this business, evidenced by its strong reputation in the family office market and our award-winning Archway Platform. We're proud of their contributions to SEI's growth, and we could not be more appreciative of their dedication to advancing the technology solutions and delivering best-in-class service for our clients.

"Aquiline is a well-respected investment partner across the financial services industry. With their strategic commitment to transforming the client experience and streamlining complex family office operations, we believe they can accelerate growth and adoption of the Archway Platform across the private wealth landscape."

The total purchase price is $120 million, and the transaction is expected to close in late second quarter 2025, subject to applicable regulatory approval and other customary closing conditions. Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC served as financial advisor to Aquiline, and Ropes & Gray LLP served as legal counsel to Aquiline. Holland & Knight served as legal counsel to SEI.

¹Assets on platform is not indicative of potential revenue.

About Aquiline
Aquiline Capital Partners LP ("Aquiline") is a private investment firm based in New York, London, and Philadelphia, that is dedicated to financial services and technology. As of September 30, 2024, Aquiline has approximately $11.3 billion of assets under management and has deployed approximately $7.0 billion of capital across the firm's three strategies in private equity, venture, and credit.

For more information about Aquiline, its investment professionals, and its portfolio companies, visit www.aquiline.com.

About SEI^®
SEI (NASDAQ:SEIC) is a leading global provider of financial technology, operations, and asset management services within the financial services industry. SEI tailors its solutions and services to help clients more effectively deploy their capital—whether that's money, time, or talent—so they can better serve their clients and achieve their growth objectives. As of Dec. 31, 2024, SEI manages, advises, or administers approximately $1.6 trillion in assets. For more information, visit seic.com.

Forward-looking statements

This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning or the rules and regulations of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology, such as "may," "will," "expect," "believe" and "continue" or "appear." SEI's forward-looking statements include its's current expectations as to:

• its strategic focus;
• the expected closing date of the transaction discussed in this release; and
• the operations and prospects of the business after the closing of the transaction described in this release.

You should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements in this release, as they are based on the current beliefs and expectations of SEI's management and subject to significant risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the control of SEI's management and are subject to change. Although SEI's management believes the assumptions upon which it bases SEI's forward-looking statements are reasonable, they could be inaccurate. The risks and uncertainties in connection with such forward-looking statements related to the acquisition include, but are not limited to:

• the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstances that could delay the closing of the proposed acquisition;
• the possibility of non-consummation of the proposed acquisition;
• the failure to satisfy any of the conditions to the proposed acquisition;
• the possibility that a governmental entity may prohibit the consummation of the proposed acquisition or may delay or refuse to grant a necessary regulatory approval in connection with the proposed acquisition.

Some of the additional risks and important factors that could cause actual results to differ from those described in SEI's forward-looking statements can be found in the "Risk Factors" section of SEI's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended Dec. 31, 2024, filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.

Company Contact:   Annabel Greenberg Aquiline +44 7717-252-307  agreenberg@aquiline.com    Leslie Wojcik SEI +1 610-676-4191 lwojcik@seic.com

Media Contact:   Anthony Silverman Apella Advisors +44 7818-036-579 aquiline@apellaadvisors.com   Kerry Mullen Vested +1 917-765-8720 kerry@fullyvested.com

 

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/aquiline-to-acquire-seis-family-office-services-business-302387582.html

SOURCE SEI Investments Company

FAQ

What is the value of SEI's Family Office Services acquisition by Aquiline?

Aquiline is acquiring SEI's Family Office Services business for $120 million, with the deal expected to close in late Q2 2025.

How much assets were on SEI's Archway Platform as of December 2024?

As of December 31, 2024, SEI's Family Office Services business had $723 billion in assets on the Archway Platform.

Which offices will be affected by the SEIC Family Office Services transition to Aquiline?

Employees from SEI's Indianapolis, Denver, and Oaks offices, including core leadership team members, will transition with the business.

What services does SEI's Archway Platform provide to family offices?

The Archway Platform provides technology and outsourced services for accounting, investment management, and reporting functions for ultra-high-net-worth families and family office divisions.