SEI Investments (Europe) agreed to acquire U.K. defined contribution multiemployer plan National Pension Trust from XPS Pensions Group for £42.5 million ($54 million), a spokesman confirmed.
The transaction is expected to close before the end of the year, subject to regulatory and customary conditions.
“We’ve identified the master trust business as an opportunity for (SEI) to participate in a high-growth area of the pensions industry,” Wayne Withrow, executive vice president and head of global asset management at SEI, said in a joint news release Thursday. “This builds upon our purchase of the Atlas Master Trust in 2021, which marked the beginning of our execution on an inorganic growth strategy to acquire assets and increase our market presence in this segment. We believe that adding the National Pensions Trust further enhances that foundation from which we seek to achieve scale and drive growth,”
The deal adds 60,000 plan participants and £1.4 billion in assets to SEI’s multiemployer plan. Total combined assets of NPT and the SEI Master Trust will be approximately £3.4 billion.
Following the deal, XPS will continue to support NPT with pensions administration and consultancy as well as provide future support to the SEI Master Trust.
“We are delighted to reach this agreement with SIEL to benefit our clients and their members with a market-leading master trust. This is an exciting journey, and with this strategic partnership, both organizations will continue to bring the best of what we each do,” Paul Cuff, co-CEO of XPS Pensions Group, added in the joint release.
