401(k) Connector Pontera Partners With Hightower Advisors

Pontera Solutions Inc., which enables financial advisers to manage 401(k) and other workplace-sponsored accounts for retirement savers, has partnered with Hightower Advisors LLC, a registered investment adviser overseeing $166.3 billion in assets under management.

The partnership gives Pontera another large group of financial advisers with access to its platform designed to help them incorporate workplace retirement saving planning with other assets. It also adds to a multiple relationships Pontera has announced in recent years. Using Pontera’s client-permissioned platform, Hightower advisers now have the opportunity to better manage clients’ 401(k) accounts by rebalancing portfolios to enhance tax efficiency, investment returns and estate planning outcomes, according to the announcement.

“Our partnership with Pontera opens new possibilities for our advisers to deliver their recommendations to more families and it gives them another avenue for growing their businesses,” Scott Holsopple, Hightower’s chief growth officer, said in a statement.

According to Holsopple, early adviser adoption of the platform has been strong, with positive feedback on the expanded services available to clients. Currently, Hightower Advisors has 140 teams serving clients across 34 states.

“With Pontera, advisers can deliver a higher level of service that incorporates clients’ 401(k)s into comprehensive wealth planning,” Peter Nolan, Pontera’s vice president of enterprise business development, said in a statement. “In an increasingly demanding marketplace, advisers now can provide a better service by holistically managing more of their clients’ wealth.”

The Pontera platform is compatible with the portfolio management software used by most Hightower advisers, including Black Diamond and Envestnet Tamarac.

Pontera completed several joint ventures in 2024, partnering with Independent Advisor Alliance, AdvisorEngine, Envestnet, Oppenheimer & Co. and 401GO.

Last year, the firm received pushback from the country’s largest recordkeeper, Fidelity Investments, when Fidelity announced it would block any third-party technology providers from giving advisers access to client accounts without plan sponsor oversight and approval. Fidelity did not name any firms directly, but Pontera and Future Capital are two of the most prominent players in offering financial advisers a way to incorporate client 401(k) management.

At the time, Pontera responded to the Fidelity announcement by saying its services are safe and secure.