Pontera Links With New ‘Tech-Forward’ Recordkeeper in Wake of Fidelity Reversal

Pontera has established a strategic partnership with 401GO meant to empower those saving in workplace retirement plans to receive personalized 401(k) account management from their own advisor.

The partnership is Pontera’s first recordkeeper integration that lets advisors debit directly for their services from the retirement plan accounts they are managing. This new feature has been requested by many plan participants on the Pontera platform who want to be able to pay their advisors’ management fees directly from their 401(k) accounts, according to the announcement.

401GO, which was established in 2019, is described in the announcement as a “technology-forward retirement plan provider that seeks to better connect employers, worker and financial advisors.” It specializes in serving small and midsize employers in setting up and maintaining compliant retirement plans.

“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, Pontera’s head of defined contribution partnerships, in a statement.

Bonnabeau emphasized that Pontera’s approach is centered in cybersecurity — being both SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 certified — adding that the platform helps savers with more complex financial management needs receive comprehensive service from their trusted advisor and optimize the growth of their retirement savings.

This will align Pontera’s platform with other in-plan assistance for participants, according to the firms, such as target-date funds and managed accounts, which already collect management fees from workplace retirement accounts. Direct debiting will also add efficiency gains for advisors who offer 401(k) management to their clients, Pontera’s announcement argues.

The news comes just about a week after Fidelity, the U.S. retirement market’s largest recordkeeper, sparked an industry debate by announcing it would no longer allow platforms reliant on credential sharing to access and take action in customer accounts held on its platform.

Fidelity’s announcement cited security concerns as the basis of the move, but that assertion has been questioned by industry sources who argue that properly designed and managed platforms can safely facilitate inter-platform account management operability — as has been seen the banking sector under Section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Act.

Credit: Adobe Stock