SEI Quick Poll: Nonprofits Increase Interest in Global Investing Strategies

Manager Selection and Research Are Issues As Implementation of Global Strategies Grows

OAKS, Pa., Dec. 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- While nonprofit organizations are increasingly using global investment strategies, resource and execution challenges continue to make it difficult for investment committees to fully realize the advantage of the approach, according to a Quick Poll released today by SEI (Nasdaq: SEIC). Nearly all (92 percent) of the poll participants felt increasing diversification is the key to controlling current volatility and validated that by saying their organization has at least some assets invested outside of the US, with over a third saying that 20 percent or more of the portfolio was invested globally.

The poll shows that nonprofit investment committees (52 percent) prefer global managers who are "less constrained," and over the past year 73 percent have allocated more assets to non-US investments. Almost two-thirds (62 percent) increased allocation to emerging markets equity, followed by developed international equity (47 percent), and global fixed income (27 percent). Also of interest is that almost a quarter of those polled are already divesting organizations that do business with Sudanese (26 percent) or Iranian (24 percent) governments as nonprofits continue to lead the socially responsible investing movement.

"Nonprofits are at the forefront of embracing global strategies as a means for an increased level of diversification and more control of the investment volatility, however there continues to be an unfamiliarity," says Carolyn McLaurin, Senior Vice President of SEI's Nonprofit Group. "The fact of the matter is that they don't always have the resources to fully understand the global market and we're seeing a high number of prospects and clients looking for global expertise and research capabilities when it comes to these products."

Poll results highlighted that need among smaller nonprofits with less than $500 million in assets. A quarter (25 percent) of this group said their organization would hire a Chief Investment Officer, but they do not have the financial resources to do so. Furthermore, 13 percent of all participants said they lack the resources to gain a sufficient understanding of global strategies.

The poll administered by SEI's Nonprofit Management Research Panel, surveyed 86 executives and investment committee members responsible for overseeing nonprofit organizations in the United States with assets ranging from $25 million to over $1 billion. A complete summary of the poll is available by emailing seiresearch@seic.com.

About SEI's Global Institutional Group

SEI's Global Institutional Group delivers integrated nonprofit, retirement and healthcare solutions to over 340 U.S. institutional clients and 500 global institutional clients in seven different countries. SEI enables clients to meet financial objectives, reduce business risk, and fulfill their due diligence requirements through implemented strategies for the management of defined benefit plans, defined contribution plans, endowments, foundations and other balance sheet assets. For more information, visit www.seic.com/institutions .

About SEI

SEI (Nasdaq: SEIC) is a leading global provider of outsourced asset management, investment processing and investment operations solutions. The company's innovative solutions help corporations, financial institutions, financial advisors, and affluent families create and manage wealth. As of September 30, 2008, through its subsidiaries and partnerships in which the company has a significant interest, SEI administers $431 billion in mutual fund and pooled assets and manages $162 billion in assets. SEI serves clients, conducts or is registered to conduct business and/or operations, from more than 20 offices in over a dozen countries. For more information, visit www.seic.com.