US-headquartered asset manager SEI has been awarded its largest fiduciary mandate to date, worth €1.3bn (£1bn), by a Dutch pension scheme and is predicting an increase in the number of institutional investors handing over the responsibility of investment decisions to external managers.

Bpf Meubel is the €1.5bn pension fund for the Dutch furniture industry, and has appointed SEI fiduciary manager for €1.3bn of its assets. SEI, a multi-manager investment specialist, will be responsible for managing the fund's investments and choosing asset managers, as well as for risk management and the use of derivatives.