Press Release

July Fuels Its Growth Strategy with Investments by Platform Partners

Issued by JULY Business Services

Oct. 25, 2022

Investment will accelerate product development while supporting M&A goals

Waco, Texas – July Business Services, LLC (JULY), a leading national provider of 401k plan services to small to medium sized employers, announced today a capital investment by Platform Partners LLC (“Platform”), a private investment company headquartered in Houston.

The investment by Platform will fuel JULY’s growth strategy to extend its advisor success model while accelerating product innovation, white-label and business process outsourcing (“BPO”) service offerings, and supporting targeted acquisitions.

JULY supports financial advisors with a range of 401k, cash balance, and other retirement plan designs that optimize savings and tax opportunities, supported by in-house plan consultants and its actuarial team. Advisors and their clients can also leverage ERISA 3(38) investment fiduciary services delivered by JULY’s subsidiary, Expand Financial.

Over the last three years, JULY’s focus on innovation has led to rapid growth. In 2021, the company was one of the first 401k recordkeepers in the country to launch Pooled Employer Plan services with ERISA 3(16) plan fiduciary support to help business owners and their employees build retirement security. The success of this commitment to innovation has also been reflected in a growing roster of white-label and BPO partners who prefer to focus their core competencies on investment management and sales and marketing, while leaving the technical, compliance, and operational burdens of retirement plans to a trusted partner.

JULY’s success in the retirement plan market reflects an unwavering commitment of over 25 years to serving the needs of small to medium sized businesses and their financial advisors.

“Our new partnership and financial backing from the Platform team give us more resources to innovate and serve small businesses and financial advisors,” said JULY CEO, John Humphrey. “We are thrilled to have found a partner that shares our commitment to building a strong company culture, with an emphasis on the employee development crucial to delivering high-touch client service with quality.”

“JULY provides an unmatched level of service in the 401k industry. Their employees are passionate about developing innovative solutions for financial advisors and plan sponsors across the U.S. We are excited to partner with JULY as they continue along a strong growth trajectory,” said Vik Kalra, Executive Vice President at Platform.

Over its 26-year history, JULY has made targeted acquisitions to augment its expert team, technical capacity, and national footprint. The capital investment and resources provided by Platform support the company’s strategy of acquiring best-in-class talent to fuel growth.

About Platform Partners LLC

Founded in 2006, Platform Partners LLC is a private investment company based in Houston that makes investments in lower middle-market companies with the intent of growing these businesses into industry leaders through a combination of organic and acquisition growth. Platform invests through a perpetual holding company structure allowing for a long-term, patient approach to partnering with entrepreneurs to build companies. The company manages total assets of approximately $950 million. For more information, please visit www.platformllc.com.

About JULY

JULY offers a modern suite of retirement plan solutions aimed at putting workplace plans within the reach of millions of small businesses. JULY’s proprietary technology solutions streamline, automate, and simplify all facets of retirement plan setup and operation while its high-touch service model elevates the experience of employers, their employees, and their financial advisors. Today, JULY serves more than 6,000 401k, cash balance, defined benefit, and other retirement plans across the country and provides expert white label and BPO services for other organizations. Please visit us at www.julyservices.com.

About Expand Financial

A JULY subsidiary, Expand Financial (“EXPAND”) is a Registered Investment Advisory Firm that specializes in supporting advisors, broker dealers, recordkeepers, and other financial institutions in their effort to serve the 401k plan market. EXPAND’s flexible service model supports all types of advisors and institutions, including those that offer 401k as a core part of their business and firms where 401k is a secondary part of what they do. Whether serving as a direct plan fiduciary or in a back-office capacity, EXPAND brings expertise and proprietary technology to the 401k investment management process. For more information about EXPAND, please visit www.expandfinancial.com.

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