HIG Capital Taps SEI for Fund Administration Across Luxembourg and Cayman Structures

HIG Capital has selected SEI to handle fund administration and depositary services for certain private equity and infrastructure assets domiciled in Luxembourg and the Cayman Islands. The arrangement, announced October 8, connects the $70 billion investment firm with a provider that already ranks sixth among Luxembourg fund administrators by alternative assets under administration.

The partnership addresses operational challenges that have grown more complex as HIG Capital has expanded across geographies and asset classes. Founded in 1993 by Sami Mnaymneh and Tony Tamer, the firm now manages more than 400 companies worldwide through strategies that include private equity, growth equity, real estate, direct lending, infrastructure, and special situations debt.

SEI will integrate its systems with HIG's existing platforms to automate workflows and reduce manual data entry. The technology is designed to provide transparency into fund operations and eliminate the duplication that occurs when firms use multiple administrators or handle portions of the work internally.

Brendan Dolan, European chief financial officer at HIG, said the decision came down to scale and capabilities. "SEI's global scale, broad operational and technology capabilities, expertise in fund administration and private markets, and local service all provide a significant competitive edge, and make them the ideal partner to support our strategic business goals," he said.

Consolidating Administrator Relationships

HIG's move reflects a broader trend among private markets firms seeking to streamline their administrator relationships. SEI research published in June found that 58 percent of private market asset managers would prefer working with a single fund administrator instead of multiple providers. Nearly two-thirds said the ability to reduce data replication through improved data quality affects their choice of provider.

Asset managers have historically split administrator relationships across different fund domiciles or asset classes, creating silos that require reconciliation. As firms like HIG expand into new markets and strategies, maintaining separate systems for Luxembourg vehicles, Cayman structures, and other jurisdictions becomes more cumbersome.

SEI operates centers in Oaks, Pennsylvania; London; Dublin; and Luxembourg, allowing it to serve clients across major fund domiciles. The company had more than $1.5 trillion in alternative assets under administration as of 2024 and works with 45 of the top 100 asset managers globally according to Pensions & Investments rankings.

Bryan Astheimer, who leads SEI's investment managers business for Europe, Middle East, and Africa, said many firms now seek partners that can eliminate in-house data replication and improve efficiency. "We're excited to partner with HIG, a firm that shares our commitment to delivering solutions that add strategic and operational value for clients," he said.

HIG's European Footprint Grows

The SEI arrangement comes as HIG has accelerated activity in Europe. The firm recently completed the acquisition of France Workwear from Rentokil Initial, adding a textile services business with 34 sites across France. That transaction, finalized October 1, will see the business rebranded in early 2026.

In August, HIG announced a definitive agreement to take a majority stake in Avanta Salud, a Spanish occupational health provider covering more than a million employees. The firm also completed the sale of EYSA Group, a Spanish mobility solutions provider, to Tikehau Investment Management after more than doubling the company's EBITDA during ownership.

Earlier in the year, HIG acquired Kantar Media from Kantar Group, separating the London-based media measurement business to operate independently across more than 60 countries. The firm also invested in logistics properties in the Paris and Lyon metropolitan areas and took a controlling stake in Fluo Group, a Finnish waste management platform.

HIG maintains offices in Hamburg, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, Milan, and Paris, alongside its U.S. locations in Miami, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Stamford. The firm also has affiliate offices in Bogotá, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Dubai, and Hong Kong.

Technology and Scale Drive Selection

SEI's platform provides what the company describes as full data visibility and transparency to help streamline workflows and enable long-term business scale. The system connects with HIG's infrastructure through application programming interfaces and data feeds that pull information from portfolio companies, investors, and other sources.

Fund administrators handle critical middle-office functions including capital calls, distributions, net asset value calculations, and investor reporting. As regulatory requirements have grown more complex, particularly in European domiciles, firms have increasingly looked to administrators that can handle compliance across multiple jurisdictions.

SEI said its onsite team of experts helped with the integration to alleviate conversion pressures. The company's local operational teams in Luxembourg and the Cayman Islands provide service in the jurisdictions where HIG's funds are domiciled.

Dolan said the partnership would ensure greater operational efficiency and streamlined data management as HIG continues to grow and serve its limited partners. The firm has been raising capital across multiple strategies and recently closed H.I.G. WhiteHorse Middle Market Lending Fund IV with $5.9 billion in commitments.

SEI partners with pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, endowments, foundations, and other institutional investors that commit capital to private markets funds. The company's administrator business serves both fund managers and the underlying vehicles they establish to deploy capital.