A Dutch foundation that funds culture, heritage and nature conservation has become the first charitable foundation in Europe to appoint a fiduciary management firm to oversee the management of all its assets, liabilities, investments and risks.

Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds, one of the largest private cultural funds in the Netherlands, has appointed the NASDAQ-listed SEI to directly manage 90 per cent of its €120m fund, and oversee and co-ordinate the remaining 10 per cent of assets which remain with the legacy asset manager for historical reasons.

The service will include the management of assets, liabilities and overall organisations finances by incorporating risk management, investment advice, implementation, oversight, trust/custody and a modelling process.

SEI will provide risk management and will select, monitor and replace investment managers within the portfolio using a manager-of-managers investment process.

The fund will invest in a combination of SEI funds including bonds, equities, property and hedge funds.

Adriana Esmeijer, Cultuurfonds’ spokeswoman, said the decision to appoint a fiduciary manager was driven by the increased complexity of financial markets and the need to further professionalise its asset management process.

“Thanks to a conservative approach Cultuurfonds has limited the negative results for 2008 to 3.2 per cent. The last two years have clearly demonstrated the need to closely monitor risk and we felt that delegating this oversight and management of the fund to one expert provider would improve our governance and allow decisions to be made more quickly to the benefit of the fund. It will also allow the board to focus on the charity’s key objectives.”

SEI said it was the first time a European charitable foundation had ever appointed a fiduciary manager.