Products August 2, 2019

FPS Group Expands IPX Platform to Handle IRAs

The product bundles complete custody, recordkeeping, administration and portfolio maintenance of IRAs. It can be paperless and resides in a cloud-based environment.

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FPS Group LLC, a provider of retirement plan solutions in the 403(b) and 457(b) space, has expanded its Investment Provider Exchange (IPX) platform to support individual retirement accounts (IRAs).

The product bundles complete custody, recordkeeping, administration and portfolio maintenance of IRAs. The goal, FPS Group says, is to give an opportunity to financial institutions to outsource service operations so that they can focus on growing their business.

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“Through our new product, we give many types of financial services companies and providers—such as recordkeepers, fund companies, banks, credit unions, advisers and affinity groups—a competitive edge to streamline processes and efficiently expand their capabilities,” says Jeff Linowski, director of sales at FPS Trust, an affiliate of FPS Group. “As a result, they can more easily focus on maintaining relationships and gathering assets.”

As with all IPX platform offerings, the new IRA can be completely paperless, and benefits from a secure, cloud-based environment and the assurance that all legal, reporting and compliance requirements are met. Additionally, the IRAs on IPX are supported with a fully staffed call center.

Deals & People August 2, 2019

Capital One’s All-ETF Digital 401(k) Business Goes Independent

The focus of the new company, ShareBuilder 401k, will be on expanding coverage among small companies, says the president of the company.

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Employees of Capital One’s all-exchange-traded fund (ETF) digital 401(k) business, along with outside investors, have bought the business from Capital One and rolled it out as a new company, ShareBuilder 401k.

“We accomplished great things being part of Capital One, including year-over-year growth, adding impressive talent to the team, and helping more business owners and their employees plan and save for the future,” Stuart Robertson, president of ShareBuilder 401k, tells PLANADVISER. “We pioneered using 100% ETF index funds and also pioneered putting plans online. Using digital and investing best practices to help people save is our core strength—providing low-cost funds paired with exemplary service. That is where we are going to double down.

“The other thing to know is that we act as a 3(38) fiduciary, which brings comfort to plan sponsors,” Robertson continues. “After much consideration, I, a few of my advisers and investors, and, ultimately, Capital One, agreed that the potential to invest in and grow the business, and ultimately reach more business owners and workers, would be best reached by taking the business independent.”

He notes that there is tremendous opportunity to expand 401(k) coverage: “There are 30 million U.S. businesses but only 575,000 401(k) plans. Many small businesses don’t even know they can offer a retirement plan. We are going to continue to use social and digital media, along with videos, to make folks aware that they can do so, at a reasonable cost.”

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