Pontera, the fintech company helping retirement savers receive professional 401(k) account management from their financial advisor, announced a new strategic collaboration with Manulife John Hancock Retirement, a company of Manulife Wealth & Asset Management. The collaboration is built on the shared mission of giving U.S. retirement savers more choice in how they manage their held-away accounts, including working with an advisor of their choosing. The firms will work together on the secure and compliant management of held-away accounts, such as 401(k)s, at Manulife John Hancock Retirement to offer more holistic strategies and improved portfolio alignment for advisors and participants.

"For many Americans, workplace retirement accounts represent the bulk of their savings. However, it's historically been challenging for their financial advisor to efficiently manage these assets on their behalf," said Dave Goldman, Chief Business Officer at Pontera. "This collaboration aims to change that, delivering meaningful benefits not only to participants but also to advisors and other retirement industry stakeholders. We're proud to partner with recordkeepers who put participants at the center of every decision they make while expanding access to high-quality financial advice across the retirement and financial planning ecosystem."

The firms anticipate the following potential benefits for advisors, participants, and plan sponsors:

• For advisors, it provides tools to securely and compliantly manage clients' workplace retirement accounts, offering deeper relationships, improved portfolio alignment, and more holistic strategies.
  
  
• For participants, it increases the accessibility of professional advice for their defined contribution accounts, including 401(k)s—and helps support smarter investing, greater confidence, and better preparedness for retirement.
  
  
• For plan sponsors, this adds value to their retirement plan offerings by supporting personalized advice that helps participants make better-informed financial decisions by working with the advisor of their choice.

"Like Pontera, we are committed to improving retirement outcomes for all Americans," said Wayne Park, CEO of Manulife John Hancock Retirement. "Giving plan participants more choice, more advice, more guidance – particularly as retirement offerings become more complex and markets remain volatile – is simply the sensible thing to do. By enabling financial advisors to more seamlessly manage their clients' defined contribution assets, we're helping people receive targeted, holistic investment strategies and a more defined path toward their retirement goals."