Smart Widens Fiduciary Services, Including for Pooled Employer Plans

Smart USA, the retirement technology provider, has widened its fiduciary services division to offer pooled employer plans and single employer plan solutions, the company announced Tuesday.

“We are open to working with advisory firms and providers such as recordkeepers, asset managers, TPAs, PEOs, or others to introduce our services to individual plan sponsors directly, or as part of pooled arrangements,” Tina Anstett, senior ERISA Counsel, Smart, said in an email response.

Smart’s Fiduciary Services is offering broad fiduciary outsourcing for retirement plans down to specific fiduciary services, Anstett said in a statement. The firm emphasized its ability to serve different plan types, from single employer plans to custom pooled structures with the goal of mitigating employer fiduciary risk and helping businesses start an employee retirement plan.

“Subject to our due diligence process and evaluation, we are open to exploring the takeover of the pooled plan provider role in existing PEPs or to serve as PPP of new ones just starting up,” said Anstett. “Smart retirement solutions can serve as both a PPP for PEPs and can also serve as a 402(a) named fiduciary for a variety of plan types, such as group of plans or defined contribution groups, single employer plans, and multiple employer plans.”

Smart makes the announcement after bringing a PEP to market with Transamerica Corp. in April called “Choice PEP.” Smart said at the time that a number of employers had expressed interest in signing up for the PEP.

Smart noted in Tuesday’s announcement that its fiduciary practice it not affiliated with the service providers it oversees. According to the company statement, this independence ensures the company avoids conflicts of interest to allow it to act in the best interests of plan participants and their beneficiaries.

“We believe in the power of collaboration and equipping our partners, with the tools they need to manage efficient and scalable retirement plan solutions, including PEPs,” Jodan Ledford, the US CEO of Smart, said in a statement.