Mackenzie Taps SEI for Major U.S. Push with Quantitative CITs

BOSTON and OAKS, Pa. – January 27, 2026 – Canadian asset management heavyweight Mackenzie Investments today announced a significant expansion into the U.S. institutional market, partnering with financial services leader SEI® to launch a suite of investment vehicles aimed at retirement plans.

The collaboration introduces four new Collective Investment Trusts (CITs) managed by Mackenzie and administered by SEI Trust Company (STC), which will act as the trustee. This strategic move allows Mackenzie to offer its sophisticated Global Quantitative Equity strategies directly to U.S. defined contribution and defined benefit plans, leveraging a structure that has rapidly become the preferred choice for institutional investors.

A Strategic Push into a Surging Market

Mackenzie's entry is timed to capitalize on the explosive growth of the CIT market. Once a niche product, CITs have surged in popularity, with assets surpassing $4.6 trillion by the end of 2022 and continuing to climb. Industry analysts note that CITs have overtaken mutual funds as the dominant investment vehicle within the defined contribution investment-only (DCIO) space, driven by their lower costs, greater fee flexibility, and streamlined administration.

By choosing the CIT structure, Mackenzie, a firm with approximately $244 billion (CAD) in assets under management, is making a calculated play to gain a foothold in the competitive U.S. landscape. These trust structures, regulated by banking authorities rather than the SEC, avoid many of the registration and marketing costs associated with mutual funds, allowing those savings to be passed on to plan participants.

"We're pleased to now offer U.S. institutions the opportunity to access proven Mackenzie Global Quantitative Equity strategies through our CITs," said Chris Adey, Head of U.S. Institutional Sales at Mackenzie Investments. "Establishing CIT vehicles further reinforces our commitment to serving U.S. institutional consultants and allocators across the spectrum as well as the evolving needs of U.S. institutional investors."

The new offerings provide broad market exposure through Mackenzie's proprietary quantitative models:

• Mackenzie Quantitative International Large Cap CIT
• Mackenzie Quantitative International Small Cap CIT
• Mackenzie Quantitative US Small Cap CIT
• Mackenzie Quantitative Emerging Markets All Cap CIT

This launch is a clear signal of Mackenzie's intent to move beyond its Canadian roots and compete directly for mandates from U.S. pension plans and other institutional allocators.

The Power of Partnership in Institutional Finance

This initiative is as much about strategic partnership as it is about product innovation. For its U.S. expansion, Mackenzie has chosen to align with a dominant force in the CIT ecosystem. SEI Trust Company is an industry-leading independent trustee, providing the critical operational and fiduciary backbone for asset managers looking to enter the space. With over 30 years of experience and more than $260 billion in CIT assets under its trusteeship, STC offers a turnkey solution that handles the complex accounting, valuation, and administrative duties.

This symbiotic relationship allows each firm to focus on its core competency: Mackenzie on its investment process and alpha generation, and SEI on providing the operational scale and fiduciary oversight that institutional clients demand. It exemplifies a broader industry trend where specialized asset managers partner with established service providers to navigate complex regulatory landscapes and accelerate their speed to market.

"Our partnership with Mackenzie raises the bar on operational excellence and fiduciary service as they expand their institutional business in the U.S.," commented Sean Lawlor, Senior Vice President and Head of SEI's Traditional Investment Managers business. "SEI Trust Company will help Mackenzie empower institutional investors, allocators, consultants, and recordkeepers with investment options to help achieve their goals with greater confidence and efficiency."

By leveraging SEI’s robust infrastructure, Mackenzie can assure plan sponsors that its strategies are delivered within a compliant, efficient, and trusted framework, a crucial factor in winning institutional mandates.

The Quantitative Edge for Modern Retirement Plans

The strategies at the heart of this launch are from Mackenzie's Global Quantitative Equity team, which aims to blend advanced data science with human oversight. This "quant" approach uses sophisticated models to analyze vast datasets, identifying securities with attractive characteristics in a systematic and disciplined way. The goal is to generate alpha—returns above the market benchmark—while carefully managing risk.

This data-driven methodology is increasingly appealing to fiduciaries of retirement plans, who are constantly seeking sources of consistent, risk-managed returns in a world of market volatility. The four new CITs provide access to this approach across a diverse range of geographies and market capitalizations, from U.S. small-cap stocks to emerging market equities.

While the promise of quantitative investing is compelling, it is not without its own set of risks. The strategies are heavily dependent on the efficacy of their underlying models, which may not perform as intended in all market environments. Investment factors that are favorable today may become headwinds tomorrow. However, the active management component, which involves human insight overseeing the models, is designed to mitigate these risks and adapt to changing conditions.

The partnership between Mackenzie and SEI ultimately provides a new, powerful option for U.S. institutional investors. It combines a sophisticated, data-centric investment engine with a cost-effective and trusted delivery mechanism, reflecting the ongoing evolution of the asset management industry to better meet the long-term needs of retirement savers.