New name for held away account platform reflects aspiration to be the bridge to a better retirement for millions of Americans
FeeX, the financial technology company that enables financial advisors to securely manage their clients’ retirement accounts and other held away assets, announced that it has raised $80 million across three recent funding rounds led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, along with The Founders Kitchen, Hanaco Ventures, Hyperwise Ventures, Blumberg Capital, and prominent individual investors. The company also announced that it has changed its name to Pontera.
“As Pontera, we aspire to be the bridge to a better retirement for millions of Americans.”
The name Pontera comes from the Latin “pont,” meaning “bridge,” and reflects the company’s aspirations to create the bridge between individuals and a better retirement. The company has been focused on improving retirement outcomes since it first launched a decade ago and has updated its name to match the evolution of its flagship product.
Pontera allows financial advisors to securely and compliantly manage their clients’ held away accounts, such as 401(k)s and 403(b)s, as part of their overall portfolio. The role of financial advisors in retirement planning has grown in importance as the burden of financial stability in retirement has shifted to individuals, with only 16 percent of private workers having access to a pension.
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“There are tremendous benefits to advisor management of held away accounts, including 401(k)s. Third-party studies have found that a professionally managed 401(k) account can outperform a self-directed account by more than 3% annually, even after accounting for fees,” said Pontera co-founder and CEO Yoav Zurel. “Prior to Pontera, advisors who wanted to provide this support had limited options that often came with security or compliance risks.”
“We are very proud of what we accomplished under the FeeX brand and wanted our new name to focus on the tremendous opportunity for advisors to help their clients realize a better retirement,” continued Zurel. “As Pontera, we aspire to be the bridge to a better retirement for millions of Americans.”
Pontera’s new capital raise comes as the company continues to gain traction across the wealth management industry. In the last year, Pontera has announced integrations with a number of technology partners, including Orion Advisor Solutions, Advyzon, and others, making it even easier for financial advisors to provide holistic service to their clients.
“We saw early on how Pontera provides a critical service for financial advisors looking to better serve their clients,” said Yoni Cheifetz, partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners. “It’s not surprising that they have grown more than threefold in each of the past three years. We believe in the product, and more importantly we believe in the team that is making the growth happen.”
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Lightspeed Venture Partners led all three of Pontera’s most recent rounds of fundraising over the past 18 months. They were joined by The Founders Kitchen, Hanaco Ventures, Hyperwise Ventures, Blumberg Capital, and prominent individual investors.
Pontera serves thousands of financial advisors from all types of advisory practices, ranging from single-person advisory firms to some of the world’s largest financial institutions. Both the RIA and Broker-Dealer communities can improve clients’ retirement outcomes with Pontera.
“Being a fiduciary means finding the best possible solutions for our clients. Partnering with Pontera allows us to provide a wider array of services to them with the goal of creating long term value and a more comfortable retirement,” said Randy Long, CEO of SageView Advisory Group, a retirement-focused RIA with $150 billion in assets under management. “The 401(k) often makes up a significant portion of our clients’ assets and is critical to include in developing and executing on a comprehensive fiduciary plan.”
In the past 12 months, the firm announced a number of partnerships, including those with Carson Group, Priority Financial Group, Dynamic Advisor Solutions, and CoastalOne.
“401(k) accounts have become a key component of the overall financial picture for many of the more than 40,000 families we serve,” said Ron Carson, founder and CEO of Carson Group. “Our ability to securely and purposefully manage these assets through Pontera has been a game changer for our clients and our advisors who serve them.”
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