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Press Release

Empower Retirement and Fifth Third Bolster Service to Retirement Plan Clients With Acquisition Agreement

Issued by Empower

Sept. 29, 2020

Empower acquires plan recordkeeping business; Fifth Third to continue to provide enhanced retirement plan services

Firms’ high service standards combine technology excellence and leading product capabilities

GREENWOOD VILLAGE, Colo. & CINCINNATI -- September 29, 2020 -- Empower Retirement (“Empower”), the nation’s second-largest retirement services provider,1 and Fifth Third Bank, National Association (“Fifth Third”), a diversified financial services company, today announced they have entered into a definitive agreement that expands and enhances retirement plan services for Fifth Third’s retirement plan participants and the employers who sponsor them. 

 Under the agreement, Empower will acquire 476 retirement plans, providing recordkeeping and administrative services. Fifth Third will continue to serve in a plan-level investment advisory capacity for most of the plans with a continued focus on providing independent fiduciary advisory services.

Fifth Third’s retirement plan business for its institutional clients will now focus on its core strength of providing independent fiduciary advisory services and comprehensive investment solutions to help clients grow, manage, and protect their assets. Fifth Third will continue to proactively deliver value added advice and solutions for its clients, leveraging its deep resources, expertise and scale.

The extended relationship will capitalize on both firms’ expertise to the benefit of retirement plan participants and their employers. Empower currently provides recordkeeping services for Fifth Third’s retirement business through its private-label retirement plan unit, Empower Institutional. Because of this existing relationship, the Fifth Third plans will not require conversions.

“With today’s announcement, Empower and Fifth Third are together taking the next step toward addressing the needs of plan sponsors, their workers and retirees through the combination of expertise, talent and business scale being created,” said Edmund F. Murphy, III, Empower Retirement President and CEO. “This is an exciting evolution of the existing 16-year relationship between Empower and Fifth Third. With the addition of these plans to Empower’s platform, we will continue to expand our capabilities for these savers, enhance our financial wellness and advice offerings, and accelerate our value creation for all our stakeholders.”

The Fifth Third retirement plan business comprises 476 workplace savings plans through approximately 100,000 participants with $6.21 billion in assets, as of Aug. 31, 2020. Fifth Third’s retirement plan business is highly regarded in the retirement industry for its robust defined contribution plan offerings, its deep commitment to participants, financial professionals and plan sponsors and innovative solutions to achieve financial wellness.

"The transition to Empower Retirement underscores Fifth Third’s clear commitment to creating value for our clients by keeping them at the center of all we do," said Kristine Garrett, executive vice president, head of Wealth and Asset Management at Fifth Third. “It is our collective goal to ensure our clients receive the same high standard of service they expect, while gaining the technological excellence and deep product capabilities offered by Empower.”

Empower today administers $667 billion in assets on behalf of 9.7 million American workers and retirees through approximately 41,000 workplace savings plans.2 Empower provides retirement services, managed accounts, financial wellness and investment solutions to plans of all types and sizes. Empower offers an integrated financial technology toolset, a commitment to customer service and an advisor-centric offering that have been the hallmarks of the company’s highly successful retirement plan solutions.

In August, Empower announced it had completed the acquisition of Personal Capital, a registered investment adviser and wealth manager. The Personal Capital platform offers personalized financial advice, financial planning and goal setting, providing insights and tools for plan participants and individual investors. In addition, Empower’s retail business provides a robust suite of products and services to individual retirement account and brokerage customers.

On Sept. 8 Empower announced that it had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the MassMutual retirement plan business. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2020 pending customary regulatory approvals. The combined firm will serve retirement plans sponsored by a broad spectrum of employers.

The transaction with Fifth Third is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2020. The terms of the agreement were not disclosed. At the close of the deal, Fifth Third will continue to manage $4.2 billion in plan assets. 

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Editor's note: This press release has been issued by the company named above, not BenefitsLink. Reliance on information in this press release might be prudent only after an independent review of its accuracy, completeness, efficacy, and timeliness. Reference to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, service mark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not constitute or imply endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by BenefitsLink.