Carta Partners With Vestwell, Morgan Stanley on Retirement Planning Service

Carta Inc., a provider of enterprise resource planning for private capital, announced Tuesday the launch of Carta 401(k), a retirement plan that includes guidance and oversight from Morgan Stanley’s Institutional Consulting Solutions, as well as business and recordkeeping technology from Vestwell. According to the announcement, the service is geared toward high-growth companies.

Carta customers will be able to access Vestwell’s artificial intelligence-powered retirement platform, which includes more than 200 payroll systems and can set up automated contributions.

Morgan Stanley’s partnership gives Carta customers access to curated and managed investment portfolios. Morgan Stanley will also assist in streamlining fiduciary processes and provide administrative support for Carta 401(k).

“By embedding retirement directly within Carta’s ecosystem, we’re turning what was once a standalone benefit into a fully-integrated part of the wealth journey by offering innovative savings tools to help teams get better control of and visibility into their investments without adding operational complexity,” Vestwell CEO Aaron Schumm said in a statement.

According to the announcement, Carta 401(k) includes a transparent fee structure designed for scaling, with no hidden assets-under-management penalties, and that is intended to maximize SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 tax credits that can offset setup and administration costs for up to three years.

“By launching the Carta 401(k), we’re making sophisticated, low-cost retirement plans once reserved for big enterprises available to every startup, with the simplicity and transparency they expect,” said Carta CEO Henry Ward in a statement.

Carta works with 50,000 companies in more than 160 countries. Carta’s fund administration platform supports more than 8,800 funds and special purpose vehicles, representing more than $203 billion in assets under management.