Q&A: With SEI Backing, Stratos Is Poised to Boost Dealmaking

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In July, SEI, an Oaks, Pa.-based fintech and absorption accounts provider, announced plans to instrumentality a controlling involvement successful Stratos Wealth Holdings, an umbrella steadfast for a web of registered concern advisors and broker/dealers managing astir $37 cardinal successful lawsuit assets and much than 350 advisors. Emigrant, Stratos’s number shareholder, exited. 

Earlier this month, SEI completed the archetypal signifier of the investment, purchasing the U.S.-based Statos concern for astir $441 million, representing 81% of the full transaction value. The 2nd signifier of the deal, which involves SEI’s acquisition of Stratos’s Mexico-based business, is expected to adjacent adjacent year. 

Stratos laminitis and CEO Jeff Concepcion continues to pb the business, operating nether its marque and arsenic an affiliated concern of SEI. 

Concepcion precocious spoke with WealthManagement.com astir what the woody means for Stratos. In short, SEI volition substance a greater measurement of deals and larger deals. In fact, helium said his steadfast volition denote 15 simultaneous acquisitions astatine the opening of January. 

Concepcion was joined by Michael Lane, SEI’s caput of plus management, who discussed the woody from his firm’s perspective, expanding its existing in-house proposal platform. For Stratos, the woody besides brings caller resources and capabilities, specified arsenic SEI’s OCIO, an country that galore RIAs are investing in. 

The pursuing Q&A has been edited for magnitude and clarity. 

WealthManagement.com: Jeff, what was your reasoning erstwhile you decided to bash this deal? What does this mean for Stratos? 

Jeff Concepcion: We’ve agelong known that to execute our goals of maturation and to beryllium capable to reinvest successful the firm, grow and leverage a batch of goodwill that we’ve had successful the marketplace with a batch of relationships, we needed a spouse that could enactment and thrust that. Emigrant, who conscionable exited successful this transaction, provided a large span from america being lone wolves and moving our ain small concern to having much of an organization mindset. I would accidental that we achieved maturation and betterment successful a batch of operational procedures and the mode we tally our concern due to the fact that of their oversight. SEI throws state connected the occurrence for each of those things that we were looking to bash from a exertion standpoint, from a process standpoint, plus management, M&A. 

Having a steadfast with that size and scope and resources accelerates each the things that I judge we were doing good that we volition bash better, faster, due to the fact that we person them alongside america now. So for me, this has perfectly thing to bash with slowing down and has everything to bash with ramping up and truly taking vantage of a batch of the opportunities retired successful the marketplace today.