OAKS, PA--(Marketwire - Jun 28, 2012) - SEI (NASDAQ: [ SEIC ]) recently conducted a quick poll of 50 corporate defined benefit plan sponsors to determine their organizations' current and future use of a [ fiduciary manager ] and their top reaons for outsourcing the investment management of pension plan assets.

According to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), an investment provider who assumes discretion is considered to be a 3(38) fiduciary manager. Other industry names for this model include investment outsourcing provider or outsourced chief investment officer (OCIO). In contrast, an investment provider who delivers advice only is considered to be an ERISA 3(21) investment advisor. An example of this model would be a traditional investment consultant.

Of the poll participants who said they are not currently using a fiduciary manager, 29 percent said they would likely consider a change to this model within the next five years, potentially more than doubling the use of an outsourced fiduciary manager model by corporate pension plan sponsors by 2017.

"As pension plan management becomes more complex, we are seeing a growing demand in the marketplace for outsourced fiduciary management services," said [ Kevin Matthews ], Vice President and Managing Director, [ SEI's Insitutional Group ]. "Working with a fiduciary manager allows plan sponsors to allocate various levels of discretion to an investment partner, whether it be manager research, selection and oversight, or the added layer of discretion over asset allocation decisions."

To help determine some of the key drivers behind the trend of investment outsourcing, poll participants who currently use a fiduciary manager were asked their top reasons for selecting such a provider. In addition, those participants currently using an investment advisor were asked why they might consider changing to a fiduciary manager model. The top three reasons were aligned for both groups:

1. Expert advice across all markets
2. Faster execution on market changes
3. Delegation of tactical decisions to increase focus on strategy

None of the poll participants are Institutional clients of SEI. A complete summary of the poll is available by emailing [ seiresearch@seic.com ].

About SEI's Institutional Group
SEI's Institutional Group is the first and largest global provider of outsourced fiduciary management investment services. The company began offering these services in 1992 and today acts as a fiduciary manager to approximately 450 retirement, nonprofit and healthcare clients in six different countries. Through a flexible model designed to help our clients achieve financial goals, we provide asset allocation advice and modeling, investment management, risk monitoring and stress testing, active liability-focused investing and integrated goals-based reporting. For more information visit: [ http://www.seic.com/institutions ].

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 advisors, and ultra-high-net-worth families create and manage wealth. As of March 31, 2012, through its subsidiaries and partnerships in which the company has a significant interest, SEI manages or administers $428 billion in mutual fund and pooled or separately managed assets, including $189 billion in assets under management and $239 billion in client assets under administration. For more information, visit [ www.seic.com ].