In the second major acquisition shocker in as many weeks, TD Ameritrade Institutional said it will sell its retirement plan business to Broadridge Financial Solutions, the companies announced Wednesday.
The acquisition of TD Ameritrade’s retirement plan custody and trust assets “will expand Broadridge’s suite of solutions for the growing qualified and non-qualified retirement plan services market and the support it provides for third-party administrators, financial advisors, record-keepers, banks, and brokers,” and represents the continued growth of Broadridge’s Matrix Financial Solutions.
Upon closing of the transaction, Matrix is expected to have approximately $420 billion in assets under administration and over 118,000 plan accounts in custody.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The transaction is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2019, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.
TD retains record-keeping
TD Ameritrade Institutional, which provides custody and brokerage services to over 7,000 independent registered investment advisors, did say that it will retain its record keeping-services through TD Ameritrade Retirement Plan (TDARP), a turn-key solution for advisors that bundles record-keeping, administration and other plan services.
TD Ameritrade Institutional will maintain its TDARP sales, service and marketing teams as well as its vendor relationships with TDARP service providers.
“After careful consideration, we decided to exit a part of our retirement plan trust business, one that’s better served by a scale player dedicated to expanding and investing in this business,” Tom Nally, president of TD Ameritrade Institutional, said in a statement. “Broadridge is a leader in this space with the proven technology and experience to provide advisors with access to innovative solutions and high-level client service.
“With this deal, TD Ameritrade Institutional can increase its focus on developing and delivering industry-leading technology, products and service that can help independent RIAs grow and compete,” Nally continued.
“The TD Ameritrade trust and custody assets are a strong complement to Broadridge’s established mutual fund and retirement business, and uniquely positions us as one of the largest neutral, independent service providers of custodial and sub-custodial solutions,” Michael Liberatore, Broadridge’s head of Mutual Fund and Retirement Solutions, added. “The acquisition represents the next step forward in Broadridge’s strategy of serving a broader set of retirement stakeholders and unlocking new opportunities for our clients.”
With more than 20 years serving financial markets, John Sullivan is the former editor-in-chief of Investment Advisor magazine and retirement editor of ThinkAdvisor.com. Sullivan is also the former editor of Boomer Market Advisor and Bank Advisor magazines, and has a background in the insurance and investment industries in addition to his journalism roots.
