After first sharing their plans last fall to jointly market a multi-fund family PEP solution, Ascensus announced that sales of the Ascensus | American Funds Pooled Employer Plan (PEP) will begin in February.
Both Ascensus and American Funds will offer the PEP program to employers and advisors under their new collaboration. According to the announcement, the program offers investors broad access to one of the industry’s leading active target date managers through a fund menu designed by Wilshire, one of the nation’s largest fiduciary service providers.
This includes:
- Streamlined solution enabling distribution efficiencies for advisors
- Plan design flexibility for each adopting employer
- Open architecture fund lineup inclusive of American Funds, BlackRock, T. Rowe Price, Principal and other investment managers
- Bundled 3(16) services to mitigate fiduciary exposure and assist with plan administration
- Financial wellness resources and advice through Financial Finesse
Ascensus will be the first PEP provider to offer American Funds Target Date Plus. Powered by Morningstar Investment Management LLC, American Funds Target Date Plus features personalized allocation advice tailored to reflect a retirement saver’s specific needs and objectives more closely than a traditional TDF allocation determined only by age, the announcement further explains.
Additionally, a tiered-investment menu groups investment funds into logical categories, from Target Date Plus as the QDIA, to index funds and other actively managed portfolios from leading asset managers that help build understanding and simplify participants’ decision making.
“Capital Group, home of American Funds, has long been a trusted partner to Ascensus,” Jason Crane, Ascensus’ head of Core Retirement, said in a statement. “We’re thrilled to expand our alliance by launching the Ascensus | American Funds Pooled Employer Plan, inclusive of Target Date Plus, and support American Funds entering this growing market. We look forward to working closely together to help more savers save more.”
“We are pleased to partner with Ascensus to offer this solution to meet the needs of a broader range of investors,” added Brendan Mahoney, head of Capital Group’s Institutional Retirement Strategic Growth team. “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.”
Supported by Ascensus’ client service team, the Ascensus | American Funds PEP is a fully bundled solution, focused on driving better outcomes for participants. The solution also provides tools like My Forecast, where savers can see a complete retirement readiness view and adjust their strategy accordingly when needed, the announcement further notes.
Ascensus now 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.
