SEATTLE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Nov. 10, 2003–Milliman USA, a Seattle-based consulting firm, announced today that it has signed an agreement to acquire Evaluation Associates, the consulting division ofNorwalk, CT-based EAI Partners, LP. Evaluation Associates is a top ten-ranked full-service investment consulting firm serving the institutional investment community. The transaction, which is in theform of an asset purchase, is expected to become effective on January 1, 2004.
The organization to be acquired, which will become Evaluation Associates LLC, a Milliman Company, will add depth to Milliman’s consulting practice, which currently serves clients in the life insurance, property and casualty insurance, employee benefits, and healthcare markets. With Evaluation Associates’ expertise, Milliman will enhance its ability to advise clients on investment policy development, asset/liability and asset/spending analysis, investment program structure development, manager search and evaluation, ongoing performance measurement and attribution analysis, client-oriented educational programs, and other issues.
Evaluation Associates and its 80-person staff will remain in Norwalk and will operate as an independent unit within Milliman. Both Milliman and EAI Partners are privately held, and the terms of the agreement will not be disclosed. Evaluation Associates Capital Markets, EAI Partners’ multi-manager asset management division, will not be part of this transaction.
“This will be a tremendous step forward for Milliman,” said Bradley M. Smith, Chairman of Milliman. “This acquisition will put us squarely among the top tier investment consulting organizations both in terms of reputation and size. Evaluation Associates is ranked seventh or eighth when measured by aggregate revenues and number of clients, and it is widely recognized as one of the best firms in the investment consulting profession. Our Philadelphia investment consulting practice, which is headed by Jeffrey Van Orden, will be folded into Evaluation Associates, and Jeff will chair the combined firm’s Management Group, which oversees the firm’s investment consulting practice.
“This is a step that has been enthusiastically supported by Evaluation Associates’ consulting professionals, all of whom are remaining with the firm and will continue to have the same client relationships and responsibilities they have currently. Jeff has known many of EAI’s consultants for a number of years, and he brings absolutely first-class qualifications to his new position. A principal of Milliman, he is an investment professional with more than 20 years of experience in brokerage, investment management, and investment consulting. He is a past president of the Investment Management Consultants Association and has served on its Board of Directors for ten years.”
“We believe that we could not have found a better home for our investment consulting group,” said Phillip N. Maisano, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of EAI Partners. “We reached a crossroads in our organizational development when our multi-manager and hedge fund-of-funds business reached a size that made it a significant business in its own right. At that point, the two sides of the business had conflicting goals, and a strategic decision was made to separate the two operations, preferably by finding a third party home for the investment consulting group. I’ve personally known senior Milliman consultants for more than 20 years, and from our perspective – and the perspective of our clients – this is a very complementary fit, one that will serve to broaden the resources that our consultants bring to their clients.”
“The fit is, indeed, a good one with relatively little client overlap,” Mr. Van Orden said. “Evaluation Associates is a first class organization with an exceptionally impressive group of senior professionals. The cultures of the two organizations are quite similar, and – like Milliman – Evaluation Associates operates independently and has none of the inherent conflicts generated by participation in brokerage or commission businesses.
“Most important of all are the resources both firms will soon be able to bring to bear on client assignments. The significance of carefully managing both risk and return cannot be overstated in the current environment, and our combined research capabilities plus our joint expertise in asset and liability management issues gives us a strong position in a highly competitive marketplace.”
About EAI
Evaluation Associates, based in Norwalk, CT, has been providing a full range of financial consulting services to the institutional investment community since 1976. Its client list includes pension and retirement plans, foundations, endowments, financial service organizations, and high-net-worth individuals, including 11 Fortune 100 companies. Within its retirement plan business, more than 90% of client assets are in defined benefit plans of large corporations or public plan entities.
About Milliman USA
Milliman USA, whose corporate offices are in Seattle, serves the full spectrum of business, financial, government and union organizations. Founded in 1947 as Milliman & Robertson, the company has 30 offices in the United States as well as offices in Bermuda, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Brazil, and the United Kingdom. Milliman USA employs approximately 1,700 people, including a professional staff of about 750 qualified consultants and actuaries. The firm has consulting practices in property and casualty, employee benefits, healthcare, life insurance, and investment consulting. It is a founding member of Milliman Global, an international organization of 22 independent actuarial and management consulting firms located in principal cities worldwide. Milliman Global member firms have more than 100 offices in 30 countries and territories employing over 2800. For further information, visit www.milliman.com.
