Pontera lands another 401(k) partnership with Hightower Advisors

Pontera, the retirement-focused fintech headquartered in New York City, has added another name to its circle of enterprise clients in the RIA space.

In its latest partnership, the fintech firm is partnering with Hightower Advisors, enabling its advisors to manage client 401(k) accounts more effectively through Pontera's industry-leading software.

With its capability to manage and report on assets held in 401(k)s, 403(b)s, and other workplace-sponsored accounts, Pontera said Hightower advisors can offer more comprehensive service, incorporating tax, investment, and estate planning outcomes as they rebalance investment management strategies across client accounts.

In highlighting the partnership, Peter Nolan, VP for enterprise business development at Pontera, pointed to the body of research showing Americans' need for professional guidance in managing their retirement savings.

"In an increasingly demanding marketplace, advisors now can provide a better service by holistically managing more of their clients' wealth," Nolan said in a statement Tuesday.

The Pontera platform integrates with portfolio management software frequently used by Hightower advisors, including Black Diamond and Envestnet Tamarac. The integration also supports Hightower’s broader mission of delivering customized wealth management and retirement planning services to its individual clients, including 401(k) consulting and cash management services for corporations, which all together represent $166.3 billion in assets under management.

"Our mission is to help each client achieve their custom vision of 'well-th,'" said Scott Holsopple, chief growth officer at Hightower Advisors. "A natural extension of that is providing trusted advice on their workplace retirement accounts."

Emphasizing the "new possibilities" for Hightower advisors to deliver recommendations to families while growing their businesses, Holsopple said early advisor uptake of the Pontera platform has been "strong" with positive feedback across the firm.

The partnership with Pontera puts Hightower in league with a relatively small but growing circle of wealth firms exploring the 401(k) opportunity, including broker-dealer giant Stifel, which unveiled its own integration with Pontera last May.