Press releases
Smart, a leading retirement technology business and one of the largest global recordkeepers, with strategic investors J.P. Morgan, Legal & General, Barclays, the Link Group, and Natixis, has today launched in the United States.
Smart's recordkeeping solution for PEPs will launch in 2021, aligning with the SECURE Act's roll-out.
With over 70,000 retirement plans already on its platform, Smart enters the US market with industry adoption already on a par with the country's second-largest recordkeeper by number of plans. Smart's proven, 100% cloud-based technology offers easy-to-use, turnkey solutions for plan advisors and employers of all sizes and ambition. Smart supports advisors just beginning to offer retirement business as well as seasoned plan advisors, and provides solutions for small businesses and members of the gig economy to the largest corporations. Founded in the UK, Smart's technology is purpose-built for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and the facilitation of lifetime income in retirement plans that the SECURE Act allows.
Smart will be led by US CEO Jodan Ledford, a US retirement plan industry veteran and, most recently, Legal & General Investment Management America's Chief Client Officer where he oversaw an increase from $30 billion to $210 billion in assets under management. According to Jodan,
"Retirement savings in our country is in a state of flux – 3 in 10 Americans have decreased or stopped their retirement savings in the Pandemic and more than 38 million US households do not own any retirement account assets. The SECURE Act provides an opportunity for all of us to help close this coverage gap. We at Smart saw that our technology was needed to help advisors, employers, and partners support even more Americans.
With our global platform, we have already shown how we can expand retirement access by making it easy for even the smallest employers to offer cost-efficient retirement plans. We are proud to launch in the US today to help Americans realize the full benefits of the SECURE Act with our tested and proven technology, and look forward to making it simpler for advisors and employers nationwide to launch and maintain a retirement plan."
In the six years since its inception in 2014, Smart has revolutionized the way its users save, becoming the second-largest PEP (Master Trust) in the UK. In addition, Smart has expanded its reach and impact on world regions' savings habits through a number of international partnerships:
In the US, Smart's recordkeeping solution for PEPs will launch in 2021, aligning with the SECURE Act's roll-out. Smart will also be bringing to the US market technology to facilitate retirement income solutions. Its flexible platform model spans across PEPs and recordkeeping engagements, utilizing a conflict-free approach to partnering with financial services entities including asset managers, banks, advisors, administrators, and insurers.
Smart deploys an innovative and extensive end user engagement and testing process to ensure that it provides an optimal experience for the advisor, employer, and participant alike. For advisors, Smart offers intuitive setup, a guided proposal process, plans designed for startups and small businesses, real-time data insights at a home office, plan, and participant level, and white labeling. Employers benefit from a simple and affordable retirement solution with an easy-to-use dashboard that automates tasks to reduce the administrative burden and communicate with participants, whilst also reducing fiduciary risk through adopting the PEP structure for the plan. Participants gain a first-class digital experience across a range of devices, access to real-time account information, and innovative tools to manage their investments. To learn more about Smart US, please visit: https://www.smartretire.com
Smart is a global savings and investments technology provider. Its mission is to transform retirement, savings, and financial well-being, across all generations, around the world.
Smart partners with financial institutions (including broker-dealers, RIAs, retirement providers, insurers, asset managers, banks) and financial advisers to deliver retirement savings and income solutions that are digital, customized, and cost-efficient.
Smart, founded in the UK, operates in the USA, Europe, Australia, and the Middle East with over a million savers and over $5 billion in assets. Smart saw over 2,000% growth in assets on its platform since 2018.
Legal & General, J.P. Morgan, Fidelity International Strategic Ventures, Link Group, Barclays, Natixis Investment Managers, Chrysalis Investments, DWS Group and Aquiline Capital Partners are all investors to date in Smart.
For more information, please visit www.smartretire.com.
Heather Valle
Caliber Corporate Advisers for Smart
heather@calibercorporate.com