SEI Investments (SIEL) has agreed to acquire the outstanding equity of XPS Pensions (Nexus), principal employer and scheme funder of the National Pension Trust (NPT), from its parent company, XPS Pensions Group.

As reported by our sister title, Pensions Age, the deal also creates a long-term partnership between XPS and SIEL.

As part of this, XPS will continue to support the NPT with pensions administration and consultancy to help ensure continuity of service, as well as provide wider support to the SEI Master Trust in the future.

The total cash consideration payable for Nexus is £42.5m, including an initial consideration of £35m to be paid at closing and a deferred payment of up to £7.5m that may be earned over two years after the closing, subject to the achievement of certain post-closing performance measurements.

The transaction is expected to close before year end, subject to applicable regulatory approval and other closing conditions.

Founded in 2009, NPT currently holds £1.4bn in assets, with the total combined assets of NPT and the SEI Master Trust following the acquisition estimated to be around £3.4bn.

As part of the deal, nine NPT employees will join SEI's institutional business, while one of the NPT trustees will also join SEI Trustees Limited.

Although the deal is not a material acquisition for SEI, the group highlighted the deal as “reinforcement” of its focus on the use of strategic transactions to accelerate growth, with the deal expected to enhance SIEL’s competitive market presence and defined contribution proposition.

Commenting on the deal, XPS Pensions Group co-CEO, Paul Cuff, stated: "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 organisations will continue to bring the best of what we each do.”

Adding to this, SEI head of global asset management, Wayne Withrow, said: "As we continue our global focus on investing in three key strategic areas of talent, culture, and growth, this opportunity reinforces our commitment to the UK region while increasing our competitive presence in the defined contribution market.

"We’ve identified the master trust business as an opportunity for SIEL to participate in a high-growth area of the pensions industry.

"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.”

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