SEI Investments Company (SEIC): Among Benjamin Graham Stocks for Defensive Investors
May 14, 2025
We recently published a list of 10 Benjamin Graham Stocks for Defensive Investors. In this article, we are going to take a look at where SEI Investments Company (NASDAQ:SEIC) stands against other Benjamin Graham stocks for defensive investors.
Markets in early 2025 are a bit like a moody spring—75 degrees one day, stormy the next. After a strong run in 2023 and 2024, the S&P 500 dropped over 5% year-to-date as investors digested a mix of policy uncertainties, uncertainty around interest rate cuts, and pockets of corporate underperformance. Many stocks are being re-priced as investors grow more selective, and earnings outlooks weaken. At the same time, the bond market is quietly signaling a shift. Treasury yields are still elevated, but there’s a growing sense that the Fed may be near the end of its hiking cycle. That has made Treasury and investment-grade bonds more attractive, especially compared to volatile equities. The market is in transition. Investors are moving from chasing momentum to seeking quality. Caution, realism, and discipline are back in style, and so are value stocks.
Preparing for a potential recession is less about panic and more about applying timeless principles—many of which were championed by Benjamin Graham, the father of value investing. Graham taught that the key to long-term investment success lies in discipline, patience, and a deep understanding of value. In uncertain economic times, those lessons are more relevant than ever. Graham said in his book The Intelligent Investor:
“The market is a pendulum that forever swings between unsustainable optimism (which makes stocks too expensive) and unjustified pessimism (which makes them too cheap). In the short run, the market is a voting machine but in the long run, it is a weighing machine.”
Rather than trying to time the market, investors should focus on building a portfolio grounded in quality and resilience. Graham favored companies with strong fundamentals, conservative balance sheets, and consistent earnings power—attributes that tend to shine when the economy slows. Dividend-paying stocks with a history of reliability also fit neatly into Graham’s framework, offering both income and a margin of safety. Graham said in The Intelligent Investor:
“The essence of investment management is the management of risks, not the management of returns.”
Diversification, another core tenet of Graham’s philosophy, helps investors avoid overexposure to any one sector or asset class. Holding a variety of investments—equities, bonds, and even cash—can smooth returns and provide flexibility. Graham often emphasized the importance of keeping a cash reserve, not just for protection, but as a source of opportunity when market prices become irrationally low.
Graham said, “The investor’s chief problem—and even his worst enemy—is likely to be himself.” Emotional discipline, especially during turbulent markets, is essential. By remaining rational, reassessing risk exposure, and maintaining a long-term mindset, investors can navigate recessionary periods with the confidence that volatility, like all market conditions, is temporary—and often presents some of the best chances to buy quality assets at a discount.
We used the Classic Benjamin Graham Stock Screener by Graham Value to compile a list of the 10 Benjamin Graham stocks for defensive investors. We considered the top 20 stocks on our screen and picked the ones with the highest number of hedge fund investors, as of Q4 2024. The stocks are sorted in ascending order of hedge fund sentiment.
At Insider Monkey we are obsessed with the stocks that hedge funds pile into. The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).
A person sitting at a desk, their arms crossed, expressing the confidence of asset management and administration.
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 35
SEI Investments Company (NASDAQ:SEIC) provides financial technology, operations, and asset management services globally. SEI tailors solutions to help clients optimize their capital for growth. In 2024, 55% of revenue came from technology and operations outsourcing, and 40% from asset management fees. The company serves clients in four business segments, including major US banks and global investment managers, managing approximately $1.6 trillion in assets. Its core capabilities span investment processing, operations, and management.
SEI Investments Company (NASDAQ:SEIC) reported Q1 2025 EPS of $1.17, up 18% year-over-year, driven by strong performance across all business units and expanded margins. Operating profit margin rose to 28.5%, the highest in three years. The firm achieved record net sales of $47 million, with $37 million recurring. SEI hosted its first global client symposium, enhancing brand perception and client engagement. The company announced the sale of its family office services business and emphasized its enterprise mindset, global diversification, and fortress balance sheet as key strengths amid market uncertainty.
SEI’s assets under management (AUM) and assets under administration (AUA) rose sequentially in the first quarter of 2025, despite a broader decline in the U.S. equity markets. This growth was broad-based and not concentrated in any single client, segment, or region. A significant driver was the conversion of previously signed deals and continued onboarding of new clients and advisers, particularly in the institutional and adviser channels. Inflows reflected backlog conversions, strong adviser engagement, global distribution partner wins, and activity across institutional and adviser channels. No single client or event drove inflows—growth came from broad strategies, new adviser onboarding, and international expansion. Positive net flows in both advisory and institutional segments offset market headwinds. The company’s diversified footprint, especially in private credit and alternatives, alongside improved positioning and elevated client engagement, helped maintain momentum despite macroeconomic volatility.
Overall, SEIC ranks 6th on our list of Benjamin Graham stocks for defensive investors. While we acknowledge the growth potential of SEIC, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold great promise for delivering high returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. There is an AI stock that went up since the beginning of 2025, while popular AI stocks lost around 25%. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than SEIC but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires.
Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
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