The Retirement Planning Ecosystem: Roles and Responsibilities

Why the Retirement Plan Consultant Belongs at the Center of It All When business owners set out to offer a retirement plan, they’re not just offering a benefit, they’re creating a financial system that must serve the needs of the business, the employees, and the owners themselves.… Read More

Heightened Cybersecurity Concerns in Retirement Plans, and What Asteri Collective Member Firms Must Do

Rising Security Risks in Retirement Plans A June 2025 NAPA-Net / Escalent survey shows that cybersecurity threats and data breaches are now the top concern for 401(k) plan sponsors of all sizes. NAPA.net Some of the key findings: 52% of plan sponsor respondents named cybersecurity/data breaches as their greatest fear. … Read More

The Future of Data Sharing & Technology in the Retirement Planning Industry

Technology is reshaping the retirement plan industry, and at the center of it all lies data. How does data move, who is responsible for oversight, how much manual data manipulation needs to be in place, how can we protect client data… it’s all about data.… Read More

Broker-Dealers + Wirehouses: Adapting & Innovating for the Future of Retirement Planning

The retirement plan environment in 2026 is evolving at an unprecedented pace. Broker-dealers and wirehouses are balancing regulatory shifts, market volatility, changing client expectations, and rapid technological advancements. For firms operating in this environment, the need for scale, consistency, and high-touch service has never been greater.… Read More

SPARK’s API Framework: Accelerating the Future of Retirement Plan Data Integration with insights from Joe Burt, Chair of SPARK’s Technology and API Committee

The retirement plan industry has tolerated operational friction for far too long. Legacy systems, batch delays, costly one-off integrations, and siloed data have slowed down every stakeholder in the ecosystem. Recordkeepers, RPCs, payroll providers, HRIS platforms, DCIOs, advisors, CPAs, broker-dealers, and plan sponsors all feel the operational drag.… Read More

Recordkeeping Industry 2025–2026: Key Trends and The Asteri Collective Impact

1. Market at an Existential Moment Key Points $12.5 trillion in assets, 121 million participant accounts. The DCIO piece had a different number and mentioned Brightscope.  Fee compression and rising operational costs are eroding margins. Outdated technology limits scalability and innovation.… Read More

TPA vs Retirement Plan Consultant: What’s the Difference?

In the retirement industry, the term TPA, short for Third Party Administrator, gets tossed around a lot. It’s the industry standard. But for those of us who live and breathe plan design, compliance, and strategy, the title doesn’t go far enough.… Read More

DCIO State of the Industry and 2026 Outlook

The Defined Contribution Investment Only (DCIO) market sits at a rare intersection of growth and compression. Assets continue to climb, $11.3 trillion across 730,000 plans and 85 million participants*, yet margins are tightening as automation, litigation, and scale reshape how value is measured and rewarded.… Read More

$8 Trillion and Counting: What the Dominance of Single-Employer 401(k) Plans Means for Advisors and Business Owners

According to recent survey data, single-employer 401(k) plans represent more than $8 trillion of the $12 trillion in defined contribution assets in the U.S. That’s two-thirds of the entire market, and it’s growing. This isn’t just a statistic. It’s a signal.… Read More

Decumulation: Engineering a Paycheck for Life

For decades, the defined contribution (DC) system has focused almost exclusively on accumulation, how much participants save, invest, and grow their retirement assets. But as trillions of dollars now sit inside single-employer 401(k) plans, a new challenge has emerged: decumulation. How do we help participants convert those assets into sustainable, reliable income in retirement?… Read More