A pair of retirement plan services providers announced this week they are combining forces, as Philadelphia-based PCS Retirement, LLC, has acquired Tampa, Fla.-based Aspire Financial Services.
In a July 31 release announcing the deal, PCS says the combined, 300-person organization “provides conflict-free recordkeeping services to 16,000 plans and 750,000 eligible participants representing more than $23 billion in assets under administration.”
Together, the recordkeeper merger of PCS (formerly known as Professional Capital Services, LLC), which bills itself as “the Nation’s Premier Fiduciary Retirement Platform,” and Aspire will serve thousands of financial advisors, strategists and Third-Party Administrators (TPAs) across the United States.
PCS and Aspire were both founded nearly two decades ago with the same common goal—to provide a comprehensive, independent and conflict-free retirement plan platform for financial advisors, TPAs, plan sponsors and participants alike.
PCS notes in the release it became the first recordkeeper to offer advisors a prospecting engine and benchmarking toolkit and is now leading the charge in integrating with wealth management platforms, enabling advisors to have a holistic view of all assets, retirement and non-retirement.
Aspire was the pioneer in flat-fee pricing, choice architecture and best-of-breed service delivery model.
For the Non-ERISA and ERISA qualified plan markets, as well as the individual end market, the combined platform is now uniquely aligned with legislative tailwinds in favor of the establishment of retirement plans by small companies and growth in automatic enrollment.
“PCS and Aspire have always shared a common vision to help Americans retire with dignity. We believe the combined organization will offer a compelling full-suite retirement platform capable of enabling financial intermediaries a robust retirement solution framework,” said Pete Kirtland, CEO of Aspire. “We look forward to joining forces with PCS to provide an industry-leading, full-service recordkeeping solution.”
As part of this recordkeeper merger, Aspire senior leadership will join the PCS management team. Mark Klein, CEO of PCS, will be the CEO of the combined organization.
“Together, PCS and Aspire can more effectively fulfill our shared pledge to offer a platform that advisors and their clients can depend on, without conflict and without hidden fees or agendas,” Klein said.
“It’s really a combination without compromise. We are focused on working together to continue to offer proactive, best-in-class service to retirement plan professionals, TPAs and the clients they serve,” Klein added. “[Wednesday’s] announcement represents our shared belief that all employers, regardless of size, and Americans at every income level deserve access to sophisticated, transparent workplace plans that increase their financial security.”