Ascensus is restructuring its retirement line of business to four segments, in an effort to tailor its services to partners, clients, and advisors, the company announced this week.
The four business segments include Core Retirement; Partner Solutions; Small Business; and Retirement Products & Solutions. All segments and their leaders will report to Ascensus President Nick Good.
“Creating defined segments allows us to tailor our business even more effectively to the specific needs of those we serve, and enhances our ability to deliver that much more to them,” said Good. “It also strengthens our dedicated focus on our valued partners—and recognizes the almost doubling of our depth and breadth in retirement over the last several years.”
Specifically, Core Retirement encompasses the company’s defined contribution (DC) segment and will be led by Jason Crane, who will also continue to lead distribution for all of Retirement at Ascensus.
Partner Solutions serves Ascensus’ private-label partnerships with financial institutions and will be headed by Jay Candelmo, who was most recently head of Relationship Management for Retirement and joined the company in 2017.
Small Business involves the company’s CoPilot, Individual(K), SEP, and SIMPLE plans products and solutions. A search for a leader for this segment is underway, Ascensus disclosed in a release.
Retirement Products & Solutions provides tailored solutions to banks, credit unions, and other entities and will continue to be led by Steve Christenson, head of Retirement Products & Solutions.
Ascensus and American Funds launch PEP sales
The news comes as the company announced that sales of its Ascensus and American Funds pooled employer plan (PEP) will begin this month.
Ascensus had previously revealed its partnership with American Funds, a subsidiary of asset management firm Capital Group, in October.
The program will offer a fund menu designed by fiduciary service provider Wilshire, and include bundled 3(16) services, financial wellness resources, and more. American Funds, BlackRock, T. Rowe Price, and Principal are among the investment managers included in the fund lineup.
Ascensus will also be the first to offer the American Funds Target Date Plus product. Powered by Morningstar Investment Management LLC, American Funds says the fund incorporates personalized allocation advice to reflect a retirement saver’s specific needs and objectives more closely than a traditional TDF allocation.
“Too many people in this country are still not saving enough for retirement, and that’s why it’s imperative we offer turnkey solutions like this PEP option with a streamlined and low-cost personalized target date solution to help close that gap,” said Brendan Mahoney, head of Capital Group’s Institutional Retirement Strategic Growth team, in a statement.
Ascensus currently has $1.2 billion in PEP assets under administration, representing nearly 28,000 savers. The company has more than $723 billion in assets under administration overall.
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