The decision mirrors moves taken recently by Killik & Co and Forth Capital, which both closed existing operations in the DIFC, though SEI was focused more on servicing institutional business covering family offices, governments, pension funds, endowments and sovereign funds.
“We can confirm that SEI has taken the decision not to renew the lease on our Dubai office and will cease to support a local operation with effect from the 30 November 2016,” a spokesperson for the Nadaq-listed company said in a statement.
“All existing clients associated with the Dubai office will be serviced from SEI’s UK office which has always played a significant part in the service model for the Dubai operation.”
SEI is a global provider of institutional and private-client wealth management solutions, and aims to help private banks, independent financial advisers, institutional investors, and investment managers create and manage wealth.
It operates from offices in Canada, Hong Kong, Ireland, the Netherlands, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States with its main headquarters located near Philadelphia in the USA.
Run of departures
Last week expat financial advisory group Forth Capital announced it was withdrawing from the UAE and closing its DIFC office as the revenues it generated and were projected to earn just did not justify the cost of the infrastructure and the regulation involved in running the operation.
Wealth planning and investment management firm Killik & Co closed its Dubai office, its only presence outside the UK, at the end of September.
Forth Capital and Killik’s departure from the DIFC came shortly after UK-headquartered AES International announced it was opening a new office in the DIFC.
