Pontera expands access to held-away account management with GeoWealth partnership

Fintech company Pontera is continuing its partnership spree in hopes of giving more financial advisers the ability to manage client assets in held-away retirement accounts.

The latest integration is with GeoWealth, a upstart turnkey asset management provider with $8 billion in client assets. Pontera’s technology will pull in data on held-away accounts like 401(k)s, 403(b)s, health savings accounts and variable annuities to give a more comprehensive view of a client’s finances.

But unlike other account aggregators, Pontera — the company formerly known as FeeX rebranded after raising $80 million in February — gives advisers the ability to see what investment options are available in these accounts and securely place trades. This can be especially helpful for clients who have a significant portion of their assets in held-away accounts, said Chuck Failla, principal at Sovereign Financial Group, a $600 million RIA that uses Pontera.

“To think you can go into another account at another custodian and place trades is borderline sacrilegious, but you can do that,” Failla said.

In the past, Failla would have to log in to held-away accounts with the client and give recommendations for clients to execute on their own.

“Pontera is the only game in town to do this,” he added.

There are barriers in place to keep advisers from tripping up with compliance. For example, advisers can't request distributions, can't change client information such as their email and can't update beneficiaries, said David Goldman, chief business officer at Pontera.

Clients provide the appropriate authentication and Pontera uses this to access the accounts, keeping login information out of advisers’ hands and free from cybersecurity liability. And by not having to log in to accounts on behalf of clients, advisers can avoid triggering any sort of custody rules, Goldman said.

“This helps them run the same level of service and client value without taking on operational challenges as they would if they [logged in] directly,” he said.

More investors want help managing their retirement savings. A 2021 survey by J.P. Morgan Asset Management found 62% of defined-contribution plan participants want to completely hand over retirement planning. A separate study from Russell Investments found professional management of accounts can improve returns by 3% annually.

“When you have a financial adviser, your 401(k) should be managed in concert with all your other assets,” Goldman said.

For GeoWealth, the integration lets the TAMP provide data from held-away accounts alongside managed assets to incorporate them in performance reporting and billing.

“The value for an adviser is twofold,” said Jack Hannah, chief operating officer of GeoWealth. “Having everyone in one spot speaks for itself. When you layer Pontera on top of that and have the ability to be truly hands-on for these held-away accounts, it allows [advisers] to make changes that need to happen way sooner.”

Pontera has built several other integrations with TAMPS and fintech providers, including Wealthcare and Morningstar Office.

[More: SageView partners with Pontera to help advisers manage held-away accounts]