PensionBee has confirmed that its wholly-owned US subsidiary, PensionBee Inc, has now launched in the United States, having registered with the US Securities and Exchange Commission as an investment adviser.

The group announced in May that it had entered into an agreement with a large, US-based global financial institution, which it has since confirmed to be State Street Global Advisors (SSGA).

As part of the agreement, PensionBee will deploy its online retirement proposition and proprietary technology, which is set to enable US consumers to easily consolidate and roll over their 401(k) plans and Individual Retirement Accounts (IRA) into one new PensionBee IRA.

The group confirmed that it has also selected a range of investment portfolios to be offered to customers that use SSGA’s model portfolios, exclusively consisting of SSGA managed Exchange Traded Funds (ETF).

SSGA is also expected to provide “meaningful” marketing support to PensionBee as the company uses its data-led, multi-channel customer acquisition approach to attract new customers.

PensionBee said that it expects its US business to grow “rapidly”, aiming to administer $20-25bn in US defined contribution (DC) assets over the next decade.

Commenting on the launch, PensionBee CEO, Romi Savova, said: “Our vision is a world where everyone can enjoy a happy retirement.

"By entering the world’s largest DC pension market, where many consumers still struggle to prepare adequately for retirement amidst an array of confusing and opaque investment options, our unique and simple approach to online retirement savings will resonate.

"We are excited to work with our long-standing partner, State Street Global Advisors, to transform the retirement savings market for millions of American consumers.”

Adding to this, SSGA CEO, Yie-Hsin Hung, said: “We are excited to extend our relationship with PensionBee and serve as their exclusive ETF model provider in the United States.

"Our collaboration with PensionBee will enable millions of Americans to have access to model portfolios built with our ETFs in individual retirement accounts managed by PensionBee."

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