Front Street Capital Management, a registered investment adviser based in Missoula, Mont. with more than $600 million in assets under management, has moved from Schwab to SEI for custody and technology.
Front Street was founded in 2006 by Russ Piazza, Chief Investment Officer, and Michele Blood, Chief Operating Officer. The firm specializes in ESG investments and runs its own no-load mutual fund, Tarkio Fund (TARKX). The fund invests in companies that create “a continuous culture of continuous improvement”. It charges a management fee of 1% and has a minimum investment of $1,000.
“For more than 25 years, they have identified companies that they believe are continuously improving through stakeholder engagement,” SEI said in a statement. “Front Street invests on the assumption that great managers can consistently create more value for customers by cultivating cultures that demonstrate high levels of collaboration, communication, trust and a philosophy of continuous improvement.”
Blood said her firm chose SEI for its technology and advisory services and its support for Front Street's investment activities. “SEI embodies our criteria for sustainable and successful businesses and this is also a key differentiator for us,” she said in a statement.
“We've been big fans of SEI's culture for decades and have always admired their team of 5,000 problem solvers who are passionate about delivering more value to their customers every day,” said Piazza in a statement. “In fact, Front Street has long been an admirer of SEI, and we even designed our co-working office structure based on SEI's headquarters.”
As of September 30, SEI had approximately $1.6 trillion in assets under management, advice and administration. This week only SIX added several proprietary and separately managed third-party accounts in its Managed Account Solutions program, including products from AllianceBernstein, Loomis Sayles and Parametric Portfolio Associates.