Press Release

Global Retirement Technology Provider Smart Partners with Finhabits, a Leading Money App for the Latino Community

Issued by Smart

Jan. 18, 2022

Partnership to enable access to retirement solutions for millions currently not participating in the retirement market

NASHVILLE, TN -- Smart, a leading global retirement technology provider, announced a partnership with Finhabits, a market-leading fintech company making financial services more inclusive in the US through bilingual offerings designed for the Latino community. Utilizing the Finhabits financial wellness platform, Smart will integrate its retirement technology within the app to help Latino small business owners and their workers gain access to a one-stop location for retirement savings plans.

Roughly one in four Americans are not saving for retirement, and minority communities fare worse, facing a disproportionate disadvantage of not having access to employer-sponsored retirement plans. Access is critical, as research suggests that workers are 15 times more likely to save for retirement if they can easily enroll into a workplace retirement plan. Smart and Finhabits aim to bridge this gap. Smart's nimble technology will integrate with the Finhabits app-driven small business journey to enable Latino businesses to enroll their workers in a retirement plan with just a few clicks. There are 4.65 million Latino-owned businesses in the US, and this effort aims to bring retirement plans to those businesses with seamless onboarding and the delivery of an end-to-end retirement plan experience.

"Smart and Finhabits share a vision for leveraging technology to simplify individuals' financial lives," said Jodan Ledford, CEO of Smart in the US. "We are thrilled to announce this partnership and introduce easy ways to save for Finhabits' users. Saving for retirement should be feasible, affordable, and easy to achieve for every employer and employee, and together, we want to make this goal achievable."

Smart offers modular ways for financial institutions, including recordkeepers, advisors, and asset managers, to build scalable, low-cost retirement solutions, with a specialization in technology for pooled retirement plans. Smart's streamlined technology empowers these financial institutions to facilitate a higher volume of retirement plans, providing access to retirement plans for participants in previously underserved markets. Smart's success is evidenced by its experience across multiple regions, such as Ireland, the Middle East, and the UK, where over 70,000 employers onboarded to its Smart Pension Master Trust in just a four-year period.

Finhabits is a leading digital financial services company serving the Latino community. Through its bilingual, mobile-first platform, it offers a variety of financial services and educational tools that allow Latino families to plan for the future and protect their finances. While the Latino community continued to be underserved by financial institutions, Carlos A. García, the CEO and Founder of Finhabits, understood the importance of making disciplined financial habits the new norm in multicultural families.

"Finhabits empowers Latinos to build wealth for their future. This partnership will enable millions of workers employed by Latino small businesses to save for retirement for the first time," Garcia said.

About Smart

Smart is a global savings and investments technology provider. Its mission is to transform retirement, savings and financial well-being, across all generations, around the world.

Smart partners with financial institutions (including broker-dealers, RIAs, retirement providers, insurers, recordkeepers, asset managers, banks) and financial advisers to deliver retirement savings and income solutions that are digital, customized, and cost-efficient.

Smart, founded in the UK, operates in the USA, Europe, Australia, and the Middle East with close to a million savers entrusting over $3 billion in assets on the platform. Smart supports its clients with a 650 strong global team and saw over 2,000% growth in assets on its platform since 2018.

Legal & General, J.P. Morgan, the Link Group, Barclays, Natixis Investment Managers, Chrysalis Investments, and DWS Group are all investors to date in Smart.

For more information, please visit www.smartretire.com.

About Finhabits

Finhabits is a leading fintech company making financial services more inclusive in the United States. Through its bilingual, mobile-first platform, Finhabits allows the Latino community to invest for the future, take video classes on healthy financial habits, and sign up for affordable health insurance. In 2020, Fast Company named Finhabits an Innovation by Design honoree for its Money Journeys, a series of personal finance lessons. For more information, visit www.finhabits.com.

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