Ryan P. Hicke
SEI INVESTMENTSAbout Ryan P. Hicke
Ryan P. Hicke is SEI’s Chief Executive Officer, age 47, and a director since June 2022. He holds a Finance degree from Saint Joseph’s University and has a 27-year career at SEI, with 11 years in asset management and 13 years in technology across U.S. and global roles; prior to being named CEO he served as CIO, head of SEI’s Technology Unit, and Managing Director in the U.K. wealth management business . Company performance during his tenure includes 2024 record revenue, operating income, EPS, and net sales events; pay-versus-performance disclosure shows SEI cumulative TSR of 134.70 for 2024 vs an Industry Index 247.25, Net Income of $581,191k, and Adjusted Pre-Tax EPS of 5.98 .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| SEI Investments | Chief Information Officer | Prior to June 2022 | Oversaw IT strategy and investment operations for SEI |
| SEI Investments | Head of Technology Unit | Not disclosed | Led technology initiatives; technology leadership spanning 13 years |
| SEI Investments (U.K.) | Managing Director, U.K. wealth management | Not disclosed | Expanded global wealth management presence; global experience (U.S. and international) |
| SEI Investments | Career span | 27 years (11 years in asset management; 13 years in technology) | Cross-functional expertise aligning investments, operations, and technology |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| None disclosed in proxy | — | — | No external public company directorships disclosed for Hicke |
Fixed Compensation
| Metric | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Salary ($) | $688,269 | $750,000 | $850,000 |
| Target Annual Bonus ($) | $1,750,000 (per employment agreement) | Not disclosed | $2,000,000 (Committee-set target for 2024) |
| Actual Annual Bonus Paid ($) | $1,575,000 | $1,750,000 | $2,200,000 |
| All Other Compensation ($) | $32,596 (includes CAP matching and insurance premiums) | $18,430 (includes CAP matching and insurance premiums) | $19,030 (includes CAP matching and insurance premiums) |
Performance Compensation
Annual Cash Incentive
| Year | Target ($) | Actual ($) | Committee Payout Rate | Key Performance Inputs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $2,000,000 | $2,200,000 | 110% for executive officers | Quantitative and Qualitative Performance Metrics including EPS ranges, sales events, strategic/tactical execution; Board emphasized enterprise mindset and record 2024 performance |
| 2023 | Not disclosed | $1,750,000 | Not disclosed | Committee used EPS, sales, strategic goals; subjective allocation framework |
| 2022 | Not disclosed | $1,575,000 | Not disclosed | Committee used EPS and strategic goals; no fixed weighting |
The Committee sets an overall pool and allocates based on subjective assessments of EPS, sales events, and strategic execution; it does not apply fixed weightings to metrics .
Equity Awards Granted (Hicke)
| Grant Type | Grant Date | Quantity | Exercise Price ($) | Grant-Date Fair Value ($) | Vesting Terms |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RSUs | 12/12/2024 | 25,000 | — | $2,164,500 | Cliff vests on the 3rd anniversary of grant |
| Options | 12/12/2024 | 150,000 | $86.58 | $3,532,500 | Performance-based vesting: adjusted pre-tax EPS must reach $7.48; not earlier than 2nd anniversary |
| RSUs | 12/15/2023 | 30,000 | — | Not in 2025 table | Cliff vest on 12/15/2026 |
| Options | 12/15/2023 | 100,000 | $62.00 | Not in 2025 table | 50% at EPS $5.25; 100% at EPS $7.10; minimum time conditions |
| Options | 12/5/2022 | 100,000 (50k exercisable; 50k unexercisable) | $61.81 | Not in 2025 table | 50% vested; remaining subject to EPS $6.25 |
| RSUs (Staking Grant) | 3/31/2022 | 40,000 | — | Not in 2025 table | 10,000 vest annually on first four anniversaries of 3/31/2022 |
Option Vesting Performance Thresholds
| Option Expiration Date | 50% Exercisable when Adjusted Pre-Tax EPS ≥ | 100% Exercisable when Adjusted Pre-Tax EPS ≥ |
|---|---|---|
| 12/11/2028 | Vested | $6.00 |
| 12/9/2029 | Vested | $6.00 |
| 12/10/2031 | Vested | $7.00 |
| 12/5/2032 | Vested | $6.25 |
| 12/15/2033 | $5.25 | $7.10 |
| 3/18/2034 | $5.25 | $7.10 |
| 9/16/2034 | $5.25 | $7.10 |
| 12/12/2034 | — | $7.48; not earlier than 2nd anniversary |
RSU Vesting Schedule (Hicke)
| Vesting Date | Shares |
|---|---|
| 3/31/2025 | 10,000 |
| 3/31/2026 | 10,000 |
| 12/15/2026 | 30,000 |
| 12/12/2027 | 25,000 |
2024 Exercises and Vesting (Realized)
| Name | Options Exercised (#) | Value Realized on Exercise ($) | RSUs Vested (#) | Value Realized on Vesting ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ryan P. Hicke | 20,000 | $606,902 | 10,000 | $719,000 |
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Ownership Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Beneficial Ownership (Shares) | 364,515 shares; less than 1% of outstanding |
| Options Exercisable within 60 Days | 259,000 |
| RSUs Convertible within 60 Days | 10,000 |
| Stock Ownership Policy | CEO must hold equity equal to 6x annual base salary; at least 50% as direct shares; compliance assessed annually in March |
| Hedging / Derivatives | Prohibited for directors and executive officers under Insider Trading Policy |
| Pledging | No pledging noted for Hicke in ownership footnotes; pledging disclosed for certain other insiders (e.g., West, Doran) |
SEI repurchased 6.8 million shares in 2024 at ~$512.5 million, helping offset equity compensation dilution .
Employment Terms
| Term | Detail |
|---|---|
| Agreement Term | June 1, 2022 – June 1, 2026 |
| Base Salary | $750,000 per agreement (can be increased, not decreased) |
| Target Bonus Opportunity | $1,750,000 per agreement; Committee-set target was $2,000,000 for 2024 |
| Initial RSU Grant | 40,000 RSUs vesting 10,000 per year over four years from 3/31/2022 |
| Annual Equity Eligibility | Eligible annually; Dec 2022 required a 100,000-share option grant |
| Severance (No Cause) | 1.5x base salary and 1.5x annual bonus for year of termination; paid over 18 months; acceleration of any unvested portion of the March 2022 RSU grant |
| Death/Disability | Accrued obligations plus accelerated full vesting of March 2022 RSU grant |
| Options Treatment | No accelerated vesting or extended exercise under employment agreement; options treated like other departing execs |
| Restrictive Covenants | Non-compete and non-solicit for 18 months post-termination; confidentiality |
| Potential Value Illustrative (as of 12/31/2024) | Cash Severance Salary: $1,275,000; Cash Severance Bonus: $3,000,000; Accelerated RSUs: $1,649,600 (20,000 unvested at $82.48) |
Board Governance and Director Service
- Board service: Director since June 2022; term continuing and expiring in 2026 .
- Committee roles: Hicke is not listed as a member of Audit, Compensation, Nominating & Governance, or Legal & Regulatory Oversight Committees; independent committee composition includes Guarino (Compensation Chair), McCarthy (Lead Independent Director), Romeo (Audit Chair), Doran (Legal & Regulatory Chair) .
- Independence: Hicke is a management director; SEI maintains a Lead Independent Director (McCarthy) who chairs executive sessions; independent directors meet regularly without management present .
- Attendance: Board held nine meetings in 2024; each director attended more than 75% of Board and committee meetings .
Dual-role implications: SEI separates CEO and Executive Chairman roles (Executive Chairman is founder Alfred P. West, Jr.), with a Lead Independent Director and independent committees to mitigate independence concerns .
Director Compensation (Context)
- Non-employee directors in 2024 received cash retainers (Board: $70,000; committee chair/member retainers and Lead Independent Director premium) and 2,175 RSUs; annual option grants were not awarded to directors in 2024 .
- Total reported 2024 director compensation ranged from ~$275,812 to ~$628,816, depending on committee roles and other fees (e.g., trustee/consulting fees for Doran) .
Compensation Committee and Governance
- Compensation Committee: Carl A. Guarino (Chair), Jonathan A. Brassington, Kathryn M. McCarthy; all independent .
- Consultant: Semler Brossy advises on executive compensation trends, equity plan design, and severance/CoC plan; Committee determined no conflicts of interest .
- Philosophy: Heavily performance-based programs; options with EPS hurdles; RSUs with three-year cliff vest; stock ownership policy; clawback policy aligned with NASDAQ/SEC requirements; insider trading policy prohibits hedging/derivatives .
Say-on-Pay and Shareholder Feedback
- 2024 Say-on-Pay support: 61.8% approval; management and Board engaged investors and proxy firms and adopted an Executive Severance and Change of Control Plan to standardize severance and vesting practices for senior executives (Denham, Lane, Peterson, McCabe participate; Hicke not listed) .
- Enhanced transparency: SEI increased disclosure on net recurring, non-recurring, and total sales events by segment in response to engagement .
Multi-Year CEO Compensation (Summary Compensation Table)
| Year | Salary ($) | Option Awards ($) | Stock Awards ($) | Non-Equity Incentive ($) | All Other ($) | Total ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 688,269 | 1,801,000 | 2,305,600 | 1,575,000 | 32,596 | 6,402,465 |
| 2023 | 750,000 | 1,556,000 | 1,860,000 | 1,750,000 | 18,430 | 5,934,430 |
| 2024 | 850,000 | 3,532,500 | 2,164,500 | 2,200,000 | 19,030 | 8,766,030 |
Performance Compensation Details (Metric-Level)
| Component | Metric | Target | Actual | Payout | Vesting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual Cash Incentive 2024 | Committee-set target | $2,000,000 | $2,200,000 | 110% for executive officers | Paid in following fiscal year |
| Options 12/12/2024 | Adjusted pre-tax EPS hurdle | EPS ≥ $7.48 | Not disclosed | Vests when hurdle met; earliest on 2nd anniversary | Time + performance vesting |
| Options 12/15/2023 | Adjusted pre-tax EPS hurdles | 50% at $5.25; 100% at $7.10 | Not disclosed | Vests when hurdles met; minimum time conditions | Performance + time vesting |
| RSUs 12/12/2024 | Time-based | 3-year cliff | — | — | Vest on 12/12/2027 |
| RSUs 3/31/2022 | Time-based (Staking) | 10,000 annually x4 | 3/31/2025: 10,000; 3/31/2026: 10,000 | — | Annual vest; accelerates upon no-cause/death/disability |
Risk Indicators and Red Flags
- Clawback policy: SEI will seek to recoup incentive-based compensation upon an accounting restatement due to material noncompliance with financial reporting requirements .
- Hedging prohibited: Insider Trading Policy restricts hedging and derivative transactions for insiders .
- Related party transactions: None with directors or executive officers since January 1, 2024; approval policy via Audit Committee for any such future transactions .
Compensation Peer Group (Benchmarking)
- The Committee used the same peer cohort referenced in the 2023 Compensation Analysis Project; composition was not re-evaluated due to recency . Target percentile and detailed peer names are not disclosed in the 2025 proxy .
Equity Supply and Selling Pressure Indicators
- Near-term RSU vesting events for Hicke: 10,000 on 3/31/2025 and 10,000 on 3/31/2026; larger cliffs in 12/15/2026 (30,000) and 12/12/2027 (25,000), which can create potential discretionary sale windows after vesting .
- 2024 realized liquidity: Hicke exercised 20,000 options ($606,902 realized) and vested 10,000 RSUs ($719,000 realized), indicating prior-year realized equity value .
- Company share repurchases: 6.8 million shares repurchased in 2024, supporting offset to dilution from equity awards .
Investment Implications
- Alignment: Hicke’s compensation is heavily at-risk, with significant option grants tied to explicit adjusted pre-tax EPS targets and multi-year time gates, aligning incentives with earnings growth and longer-term value creation; CEO ownership requirements (6x salary) and clawback provisions further support alignment .
- Execution bar: Option hurdles stepped up (e.g., $7.48 EPS for 12/12/2024 grant) alongside record 2024 performance, reinforcing that sustained EPS expansion is required to vest material portions of equity awards—a positive indicator for disciplined growth focus .
- Supply dynamics: RSU cliffs in 2026-2027 and recent option exercise activity suggest periodic supply events; however, SEI’s active buybacks provide a counterbalance to potential insider-driven supply .
- Retention and risk: Hicke’s agreement includes 18-month non-compete/non-solicit and structured severance (1.5x salary and bonus; RSU acceleration limited to the 2022 Staking Grant; no option acceleration), which encourages retention while limiting windfalls—note that the broader Executive Severance and CoC Plan applies to other executives, not Hicke .
- Governance mitigants: CEO is not Board Chair; presence of a Lead Independent Director and independent committees (with active shareholder engagement and responsiveness to say-on-pay feedback) mitigate independence concerns and support governance quality .