The Collective Objective

From our perspective, the objective of the Asteri Collective is to create an effective directive for all of the respective players in the RPC world. 

What the Asteri Collective Is Actually Trying to Do

There is a difference between saying you want to “improve the industry” and being willing to reorganize how it actually functions. The Asteri Collective exists for the second reason.

Retirement plan consulting has evolved in silos. Payroll providers built their own rails. Recordkeepers built theirs. RPC firms built workflows around whatever data they could get their hands on. Compliance, filings, participant outcomes, everything downstream depends on how well those pieces happen to connect.

They don’t. And everyone knows it. And everyone wants to fix it. So we’re leading the charge.

The Real Problem No One Owns

If you ask the key players in the Retirement planning industry what they actually want, the answers are not complicated

They want clean data.
They want timely data.
They want consistency in how plans are serviced and how information flows.
They want systems that talk to each other without manual processes.

That’s not just an opinion. That’s coming directly from the key industry players.  Everyone is frustrated but no one is leading the charge. Until us..

A single retirement plan can involve:

• A payroll provider generating raw data
• An RPC firm cleaning and interpreting that data
• A recordkeeper ingesting it into their platform
• A separate process for compliance testing
• A completely different process for Form 5500 filings

And somehow we still accept:

• Census files that are manually compiled
• Contribution files that break on formatting
• Eligibility calculations that require rework
• Year-end processes that feel like triage

Compensation for fragmentation is a losing situation. 

Data Transfer is Broken

Everyone talks about “better technology.” Very few are willing to define what that actually means. One thing’s for sure… It does not mean more portals, logins, dashboards or layering AI on top of bad data.

It does mean agreement on:

• How participant data is structured
• When and how data moves between systems
• What constitutes “complete” and “usable” data
• How errors are identified and resolved upstream, not downstream

Right now, every integration is a custom build. Every relationship requires translation. Every onboarding is a new interpretation of the same plan.

That is why something as fundamental as payroll integration still behaves like a bespoke project instead of a standardized function. And until that changes, nothing else scales.

APIs Standardize Innovation

There is a lot of noise around APIs in this industry. Here is the uncomfortable truth. An API without a shared standard is just a faster way to send inconsistent data.

Even now, less than two-thirds of organizations say they are planning API development, and only about half are aligning around emerging standards.

That tells you everything.

We are still in a phase where:

• Some systems are modern
• Some are partially modernized
• Some are still entirely manual
• And none of them are fully aligned

The Asteri Collective is not interested in incremental adoption. The objective is to push toward a common language for the entire ecosystem. Not just RPC firms. Everyone.

Payroll providers.
Recordkeepers.
Advisors.
Compliance systems.

Because until our systems operate on shared definitions, every “integration” is just another workaround.

Cybersecurity Is Essential Infrastructure

There is another issue that rarely gets addressed directly. Cybersecurity in the retirement ecosystem is uneven at best. And that matters more here than in almost any other financial system.

Because retirement plans are long-term high-value accounts and the companies we serve are increasingly digital-first. The expectation from partners and clients is clear. Robust cybersecurity protocols are not a requirement.

Yet across the RPC landscape, maturity varies widely.Some firms are operating at institutional-grade security standards.Others are still reliant on processes that were never designed for today’s threat environment.

The Asteri Collective is taking the position that, if you are going to operate inside this ecosystem, you meet the standard we are setting for cyber protocols.

The Industry Has Been Operating Like a Set of Soloists

There is a cultural problem underneath all of this. For years, the retirement ecosystem has been shaped by fragmentation and competition at the wrong level. Everyone is trying to win their part of the relationship.No one is responsible for the performance of the system as a whole.

To the plan sponsor, none of that matters.They see one plan.They expect one outcome. And they want simplicity that’s offered by set it and forget it fintech solutions. 

The survey data reflects that expectation clearly. All of the key players in the RPC world are asking for unified communication, shared accountability, and a coordinated service model that presents as a single team.

This Is Why the Asteri Collective Exists

The Asteri Collective is not just another association. It is operating as a coordinating body for firms that already sit at the center of plan design, data flow, and compliance.

RPC firms are already the connective tissue.The difference is whether that position is used passively or actively. The Asteri Collective is actively shaping the next steps to ensure that it gets done right.

What Changes If This Works

If the industry aligns around shared standards, a few things happen quickly. Onboarding timelines compress because data is structured correctly from the start. Error rates drop because systems are validating against the same definitions. Compliance processes become predictable because inputs are consistent. Participant outcomes improve because plans are administered the way they were designed.

And the experience for advisors and plan sponsors stops feeling like a coordination exercise across five vendors. It starts to feel like a system.

The Objective of the Collective 

The objective of the Asteri Collective is straightforward. Establish a level of operational and technological alignment across the retirement ecosystem that makes:

• Data consistent
• Processes repeatable
• Integrations scalable
• Security non-negotiable

And in doing so, reposition the role of the Retirement Plan Consultant from a service provider to a system architect. Because that is already what the best firms are doing. The difference now is we are doing it together.

Pick Up Your Instrument 

Think of the whole process as an orchestra. Right now, too many players are still improvising. Different keys. Different timing. Different interpretations of the same structure. This is a symphony. And it is time to play from the same sheet music.

The Asteri Collective is bringing that sheet music into focus. It is defining how data should move, how systems should connect, and how partners should operate alongside one another. Shared standards create clarity across payroll, recordkeepers, and RPC firms. Clean, structured data moves with purpose. Processes become consistent. Security expectations are clear and upheld. Each participant understands their role and executes it with precision.

When alignment takes hold, the entire system begins to perform differently. Onboarding becomes efficient. Compliance becomes reliable. Communication becomes coordinated. The experience for advisors and plan sponsors reflects a unified system rather than a collection of separate efforts. The industry has the expertise. The Asteri Collective is organizing that expertise into something that works together, at scale, with intention.