Corporate Roundup: Schwab Invests in Wealth.com, Blue Ridge Associates Buys QRPS

Schwab Invests in Wealth.com

The Charles Schwab Corporation has made a minority investment in Wealth.com, an estate planning platform in wealth management with aims to modernize how financial advisors help clients of all wealth levels with their estate planning needs.

Schwab’s investment is said to help Wealth.com scale its capabilities to make it easier for financial firms and advisors to provide estate planning services to individuals and families.

“We’re enhancing our wealth management offer by building out trust and estate capabilities that will help us serve our clients’ evolving needs, wherever they are on their financial journeys,” said Neesha Hathi, managing director and head of Wealth and Advice Solutions. “Wealth.com is a leading provider of an intuitive and easy-to-use trust and estates process, powered by Artificial Intelligence.”

“Investors want to conduct more of their financial lives in one place, and advisors are increasingly looking for tools and platforms that enable them to scale their business and grow,” said Rick Wurster, president and CEO of the Charles Schwab Corporation. “Wealth.com is an important first step in building out a support ecosystem for our advisor clients as they respond to investors’ needs, while also providing a scalable and easy-to-use solution for our retail clients to meet more of their financial needs at Charles Schwab.”

“This is more than an investment. It’s the foundation for something much bigger,” said Wealth.com CEO Rafael Loureiro. “Together, we’re reimagining estate planning at scale — delivering modern tools that empower advisors, elevate client outcomes, and redefine what’s possible in wealth management.”

As an extension of this strategic investment, the two firms are also developing opportunities to offer access to Wealth.com’s estate planning tools to Schwab’s clients. Details and launch plans to follow.

The terms of the investment have not been disclosed.

Blue Ridge Associates Buys QRPS

Blue Ridge Associates, a provider of administration solutions for employer-sponsored, tax-advantaged equity compensation and savings benefit plans, is acquiring Qualified Retirement Plan Services, Inc. (QRPS).

The addition of QRPS further expands the Blue Ridge service offering, resource capacity, technical expertise, and geographical coverage, specifically in their 401(k) and pension business line of services.

“At Blue Ridge, there are three things that make us different in the retirement consulting space: superior client care, unparalleled industry expertise and advanced technology. The addition of QRPS will strengthen all three of these market-leading differentiators,” said Matt Slyter, group president of the 401(k) & Pension practice at Blue Ridge. “This fact, coupled with the long-term relationship we have had with Forrest and the skills and experience of the entire QRPS team, made it abundantly clear they were the perfect partner to advance our strategic and growth objectives.”

Established in 1988, QRPS works in administration and compliance solutions for all types of employer-sponsored qualified retirement plans, serving over 1,000 plans covering over 31,000 participants and over $2 billion in assets under management (AUM) across the small and middle-market business community.

“When it came time to plan for the future of our business, I wanted to be thoughtful about the process to secure our legacy and provide a stable succession plan for our team members,” said Forrest Knowles, president of QRPS. “Blue Ridge is a natural choice. Their values align with ours, and I’m confident that together we will take our business to new heights. I trust the team at Blue Ridge to honor what we’ve built and lead us into the next chapter of our success.”

Payroll Integrations Releases Tech Partnership with UKG

Payroll Integrations has introduced a new technology partnership with UKG, a leading global provider of HR, payroll, and workforce management, and culture solutions.

With more than 350 technology and services partners, UKG’s partner ecosystems in the human capital management (HCM) industry focus on creating better employee experiences and improving business outcomes.

Companies that use UKG Pro or UKG Ready can now automate administrative tasks using Payroll Integrations. Payroll Integrations’ technology transfers data from payroll systems and benefit plan providers to eliminate manual entries.

“Companies want to support employees’ financial wellness, but it can be hard to find time to connect and engage with employees when HR teams are bogged down with hours of payroll and benefits-related administrative tasks,” said Doug Sabella, CEO of Payroll Integrations. “We’re looking forward to working with UKG to expand our work to automate HR hassles so companies can prioritize their employees.”

UKG solutions are built on the FleX platform, a modern technology framework. FleX Flow, an API framework, anchors UKG solutions in the flow of work and connects IT systems with applications to increase workplace productivity and employee satisfaction.

“Our partnership ecosystem helps us support our customers with seamless solutions that improve business outcomes and inspire people,” said Mike May, vice president of technology partnerships at UKG. “Partners like Payroll Integrations allow us to extend our capabilities and deliver technology that elevates the workplace experience and meet the needs of people throughout their life-work journey.” 

Recordkeeping Sales Head Joins PlanPort

Kevin Crain is joining PlanPort to consult and lead its recordkeeper sales initiatives.

Crain brings over forty years of industry experience to PlanPort, having held leadership roles at financial institutions. 

“I am incredibly excited to join PlanPort and be part of a team that is revolutionizing the retirement plan industry,” said Crain. “I was drawn to PlanPort by its cutting-edge AI-powered technology, which provides a unique and powerful solution to the complex challenge of converting retirement plan documents to actionable information and data. This technology is truly a game-changer, and I believe it has the potential to transform the way recordkeepers operate.” 

“It is great to have Kevin with his long track record of industry experience and success helping to drive PlanPort’s growth as we continue to rapidly scale,” said David Levine, founder of PlanPort. 

Strongpoint Partners Welcomes CRP

Strongpoint Partners, a retirement services platform serving small- to mid-sized businesses with integrated retirement third-party administration, recordkeeping, payroll, and HR solutions, announced a new partnership with CRP – California Retirement Plans (CRP), a relationship-driven retirement plan administration, consulting, and problem-solving service platform.

CRP has served the Northern California market for more than 30 years.

“I was introduced to CRP through our partner, Carlson Quinn, who identified the team as a great cultural fit for Strongpoint,” said Danny Hest, CEO of Strongpoint Partners. “When I first met Brian Smith, president of CRP, it was immediately apparent that his team’s commitment to delivering high-quality service and solutions to their clients aligned with our approach at Strongpoint. They were already familiar with the culture that makes Strongpoint so unique in our space, and their work product and depth of expertise were readily apparent.”

 “Hearing the team from Carlson Quinn share their positive experience with Strongpoint Partners really piqued my interest,” said Smith. “CRP’s employees are our greatest asset, and with a roster of loyal, long-term clients, it was essential to me that any partnership we pursued would enable us to continue nurturing those relationships while staying focused on what we do best. After spending time with Danny and the Strongpoint leadership team, I knew this would be a perfect fit. The national resources now available to us will employer my team to thrive and achieve even greater success.”

The entire CRP team will remain in their roles, and CFP employees will continue to serve their clients.

Savvy Wealth Names Legal & Compliance Head

Savvy Wealth Inc., a digital platform for financial advisors centered around modernizing human financial advice, has added Lisandra Wilmott as head of legal & compliance. In this role, she will streamline Savvy’s legal operations, lead the development of its compliance program and build out legal workflows across business units.

As Savvy Wealth’s national affiliate registered investment advisor (RIA), Savvy Advisors, recently surpassed 50 advisors, Wilmott joined the company to better support advisors in their transitions to the firm. Wilmott’s appointment will centralize the firm’s legal function, reducing pain points while supporting Savvy’s advisor recruiting strategies.

“Savvy Wealth has become the leading tech-forward platform for entrepreneurial independent advisors seeking to scale their practices,” said Wilmott. “This is a massive opportunity for me to leverage my vast experience in the wealth management industry and build a legal and compliance operation from the ground up. With a strong culture and talented team already in place, I’m eager to help us achieve our mission of modernizing human advice.”

Wilmott joins Savvy Wealth after departing Pathstone, where she served as general counsel for nearly five years and was a key figure in building out the firm’s legal and compliance department. She led Pathstone through acquisitions as it grew from $25 billion to nearly $200 billion in assets.

Previously, Wilmott held vice president to assistant general counsel roles at LPL Financial and J.P. Morgan, advising on legal matters, corporate governance and regulatory compliance. Wilmott earned a master’s degree from MIT’s Sloan School of Management in 2024 and holds a juris doctor degree from University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law.

“Lisandra’s legal acumen and proven track record of building compliance programs in the wealth management industry make her a perfect fit for our team,” said Ritik Malhotra, founder and CEO of Savvy Wealth. “We’re entering the next phase of our growth, focused on providing advisors with even more capabilities. We believe Lisandra will play an integral role in this effort—especially in supporting new advisors as they join Savvy and in streamlining legal processes that will help drive our expansion well into the future.”

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