Pontera™, the fintech company helping retirement savers receive professional 401(k) account management from their trusted financial advisor, has announced a strategic partnership with 401GO, a fast-growing retirement plan provider that uses advanced technology to better serve plan sponsors, their participants and financial advisors.
Founded in 2019, 401GO is a 401(k) plan recordkeeper and leader in using innovative technology to simplify and enhance workplace retirement solutions for thousands of small and midsize companies sourced through payroll firms, start-ups and plan providers. Recordkeepers are firms that set up and administer workplace retirement plans for sponsoring employers and advisors.
Working with Pontera’s technology, 401GO will be able to empower plan participants to receive holistic, personalized 401(k) account management from their own advisor, helping them to realize better outcomes. Pontera believes all retirement savers should have access to expert help managing their 401(k) accounts and the ability to choose how they receive that help.
“Enabling personalized 401(k) account management through Pontera provides plan participants more choice in how they receive in-plan help, complementing target-date funds, managed accounts and other solutions,” said Jerry Bonnabeau, Head of Defined Contribution Partnerships, Pontera. “Our secure platform helps clients with more complex financial management needs receive a higher, more comprehensive level of service from their trusted advisor and optimize the growth of their retirement savings.”
The milestone agreement marks Pontera’s first recordkeeper integration that lets advisors debit directly for their services from the retirement plan accounts they are managing. This important new feature, requested by many plan participants on the Pontera platform, will offer greater convenience for retirement savers by allowing them to pay their advisors’ management fees directly from their 401(k) accounts.
This will align Pontera’s platform with other in-plan assistance for participants, such as target-date funds and managed accounts, which already collect management fees from workplace retirement accounts. Direct debiting also will fuel significant operational efficiency gains for advisors who offer 401(k) management to their clients.
The partnership with Pontera opens up new opportunities for 401GO in the marketplace. Financial advisors using the 401GO recordkeeper platform will be able to extend their services to more households when they can also manage account assets in workplace accounts.
“Pontera shares 401GO’s vision for reshaping the retirement industry through technology, making 401(k)s more inclusive, approachable and affordable,” said Daniel Beck, 401GO Co-Founder and Chief Executive. “We’re dedicated to helping companies of all sizes offer retirement plans that attract and retain employees. By working with Pontera, we can help more advisors offer 401(k) management efficiently, at scale, as a core service to more clients. Our partnership also expands the menu of advice services we offer to meet the unique needs of different retirement savers.”
More than half of the median American’s wealth is held in workplace-sponsored retirement accounts, yet historically it’s been challenging for participants to turn over management of their 401(k) to their existing, trusted advisor. Studies have shown professionally managed accounts generate more than 4% in additional returns each year, net of fees, than self-directed accounts.
Pontera’s secure, client-permissioned technology enables retirement savers to receive personalized 401(k) management as part of a holistic wealth management service that incorporates all, not just some, of their financial holdings. The platform, certified under SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 standards, acts as a secure layer that lets advisors analyze, rebalance, and monitor accounts while also safeguarding clients’ data.
To learn more, please visit Pontera at www.pontera.com.
