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Pontera Raises $60 Million to Help US Workers Retire Better

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10 months ago

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ICONIQ Growth backs fintech’s efforts to expand access to comprehensive wealth management services for 401(k) participants

NEW YORK, Dec. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Pontera, the fintech company enabling 401(k) participants to receive comprehensive wealth management services by personal financial advisors, has secured $60 million in a funding round led by ICONIQ Growth. This investment raises Pontera’s total funding to $160 million, reinforcing its commitment to address the widespread neglect of workplace retirement accounts held by 85 million Americans—a critical element of the U.S. retirement crisis.

Pontera welcomed ICONIQ Growth as a new investor in an up round with additional participation from prior investors.

After more than quadrupling revenue since its last fundraise announced in February 2022, Pontera welcomed ICONIQ Growth as a new investor in an up round with additional participation from prior investors Blumberg Capital, Collaborative Fund, Hanaco Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners and The Founders Kitchen.

“We are proud to support the Pontera team as they empower advisors to help their clients feel more financially secure and retire with greater wealth,” said Yoonkee Sull, General Partner at ICONIQ Growth. “Pontera is addressing a growing market need with a solution that benefits the entire retirement ecosystem through a proven approach for financial advisors to compliantly and more effectively manage workplace retirement assets.” 

Thousands of financial advisors are now leveraging Pontera’s platform to overcome operational hurdles to securely and compliantly manage 401(k), 403(b) and other retirement plan assets as a critical part of their clients’ wealth.

Jeremy Abfalter, an Arizona resident, describes his challenges before his financial advisor at Ironwood Wealth Management invited him to the Pontera platform: “I would sign up for a 401(k) through my company… I just didn’t feel as comfortable trying to pick [plan] options by myself without having any knowledge or experience in doing it.”

Now receiving professional help by his advisor, facilitated via Pontera, he reports: “Having the peace of mind knowing that there are experts at Ironwood who are managing our 401(k) makes it a lot easier for me and stress free.”

Studies have consistently shown that the majority of 401(k) plan participants desire more comprehensive assistance with retirement planning, and that a professionally-managed portfolio can generate up to 4% additional annual net returns. However, as over one third of workers seek professional help, financial advisors have historically struggled to manage the entirety of clients’ retirement assets.

The operational challenges begin with the workplace retirement account’s location; as plans are selected by employers, it is often the case that a financial advisor has no affiliation with the financial institution holding their client’s 401(k). To manage these outside assets, financial advisors have for years logged into accounts using their client’s credentials—a practice that requires substantial investments in cybersecurity and compliance. Alternatively, advisors have provided rebalancing guidance to clients, assuming the risks of lacking full plan information and implementation oversight.

Pontera alleviates these challenges through its client-permissioned platform, which empowers advisors to analyze, rebalance and monitor 401(k), 403(b) and other held-away accounts across hundreds of financial institutions in a single, unified view. The platform is SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 certified and integrates with leading portfolio management software to provide clients with a 360° view of their finances. Clients benefit from enhanced transparency, peace of mind and retirement outcomes. 

“It’s one of those rare moments in time where if you implement a new capability everyone wins, from the client to the advisor,” said Shirl Penney, President and CEO of Dynasty Financial Partners, a leading provider of wealth management and technology platforms to over 300 financial advisors. Penney recently announced that Dynasty is on track to oversee $100 billion in client assets by July 2024.

As the future of social security is uncertain, the U.S. government is working to expand and preserve the 401(k), as indicated by the SECURE 2.0 Act and the proposed Retirement Security Rule. The latter targets $779 billion lost by plan participants during inadequate account rollovers. Earlier this year, Pontera evidenced its solution helps advisors and their clients keep assets in 401(k) plans and minimize suboptimal rollovers.

“This funding is not just an investment in Pontera; it’s an investment in the future of every U.S. worker striving for a secure and fulfilling retirement,” said Yoav Zurel, CEO of Pontera. “We are proud to partner with investors who recognize the nation’s looming retirement crisis and Pontera’s role in helping everyday families.”

Pontera’s collaboration with Dynasty represents a significant achievement in the company’s journey since the last funding round; other notable new relationships include Benjamin Edwards, OneDigital, Savant and Wealthspire. In that time, Pontera has also launched new platform integrations with wealth management platforms Addepar, Envestnet and Morningstar.

To learn more about Pontera, visit pontera.com.

About Pontera

Pontera is a fintech company on a mission to help millions of Americans retire better by enabling financial advisors to analyze, rebalance, and report on workplace retirement account assets, including 401(k)s, 403(b)s and more. The platform is designed to work across the vast majority of retirement plans and seamlessly integrate with existing portfolio management tools to help advisors improve their clients’ financial outcomes. Founded in 2012, Pontera is headquartered in New York City. Learn more at pontera.com.

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SOURCE Pontera

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Tulufan, Xinjiang: For the first time, a new energy plant and station has achieved “all-green electricity” operation

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58 mins ago

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September 20, 2024

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TULUFAN, China, Sept. 20, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — On September 19, employees of State Grid Tulufan Electric Power Supply Company came to State Power Investment Zhongli Tenghui Qiquanhu Photovoltaic Power Station to provide comprehensive technical support and guidance for new energy enterprises.

Seven wind power and photovoltaic power generation enterprises, including Xinjiang Jize Power Generation Company in Tulufan, have obtained 6.035 million KWH of grid electricity by purchasing 6,035 “green certificates” to achieve “green electricity – green electricity” and achieve green energy use in the whole link of new energy power generation.

The green power certificate, referred to as “green certificate”, is the only certificate that identifies the production and consumption of renewable energy power. Promoting the all-green operation of new energy power generation is an important measure to promote the green consumption of renewable energy.

“Before, we were just ‘producers’ of green electricity. Now the buyers of green certificates have become green electricity consumers, and the production process is fully green.” Qiquan Lake photovoltaic power station inspection officer Forzati Dilishati said.

Since the launch of the green electricity and green certificate market, State Grid Tulufan Electric Power Supply Company has actively promoted green electricity trading, promoted the supply of green electricity and green certificates in multiple scenarios, promoted the rapid promotion and popularization of related services in Tulufan, and helped build a new power system.

In the first eight months of this year, the cumulative volume of green electricity transactions in Xinjiang reached 1.174 billion KWH, 93.83 times that of the whole year of 2022.

 

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/tulufan-xinjiang-for-the-first-time-a-new-energy-plant-and-station-has-achieved-all-green-electricity-operation-302253902.html

SOURCE State Grid Tulufan Electric Power Supply Company

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KuCoin’s Alicia Kao Shares Insights on How AI is Accelerating Mass Crypto Adoption at TOKEN2049 Singapore

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58 mins ago

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September 20, 2024

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VICTORIA, Seychelles, Sept. 20, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Alicia Kao, Managing Director at leading global cryptocurrency exchange, KuCoin, shared her vision on how crypto exchanges are the drivers that hold the keys to unlocking mainstream crypto adoption. Speaking at the OKX Main Stage at TOKEN2049 in Singapore on a panel session titled “Exchanges at the Helm: Driving Crypto from Niche to Mainstream,” Alicia shared that “accessing information about blockchain has become significantly easier…at KuCoin, we leverage complex data analysis algorithms using our trading bots to help users trade more efficiently.”

Industry stakeholders from all groups were in attendance for the panel, comprising investors, crypto enthusiasts, and more. The focus was on the crucial role of cryptocurrency exchanges in paving the way for crypto adoption and the eventual integration of digital assets into mainstream financial systems. Alicia and her fellow panelists explored both the challenges and opportunities that lay ahead for the crypto industry.

Alongside Alicia, the panel also featured leaders from leading crypto exchanges such as Ben Zhou, Co-Founder and CEO of Bybit; Gracy Chen, CEO of Bitget; Vivien Lin, Chief Product Officer of BingX; and Sonia Shaw, President of CoinW, and moderated by Michael Casey, Chairman of the Decentralized AI Society.

In addition to the panel discussion, KuCoin cemented its position as a leading centralised exchange (CEX) with a prominent presence on the show floor and activations that showcased the platform’s latest developments. The KuCoin Arcade also drew significant attention, offering an engaging and immersive experience with interactive crypto-themed games and activities.

“As we wrap up another edition of TOKEN2049 in Singapore, I’m once again filled with optimism for the future of the crypto industry. The energy, innovation, and collaboration displayed over the past two days have been immensely inspiring. At KuCoin, we will continue striving to be the driving force in this ever evolving space to build a more inclusive, decentralised, and prosperous financial future” added Alicia as TOKEN2049 concluded.

About KuCoin

Launched in September 2017, KuCoin is a leading cryptocurrency exchange with its operational headquarters in Seychelles. As a user-oriented platform with a focus on inclusiveness and community engagement. It offers over 900 digital assets across Spot trading, Margin trading, P2P Fiat trading, Futures trading, and Staking to its 34 million users in more than 200 countries and regions. KuCoin ranks as one of the top 6 crypto exchanges. KuCoin was acclaimed as “One of the Best Crypto Apps & Exchanges of June 2024” by Forbes Advisor and has been included as one of the top 50 companies in the “2024 Hurun Global Unicorn List”. Learn more at https://www.kucoin.com/.

 

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SOURCE KuCoin

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PayPal Ventures Reinforces Support of Chaos Labs with Additional Investment

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58 mins ago

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September 20, 2024

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SINGAPORE, Sept. 20, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Today, PayPal Ventures, the global venture capital arm of PayPal, announced an additional investment in Chaos Labs, an industry leader in onchain risk management. This investment underscores PayPal Ventures’ confidence in Chaos Labs’ potential and their blockchain products.

Chaos Labs’ recent launch of Edge, a new decentralized oracle protocol, has garnered significant attention within the industry. Edge has already secured a remarkable $30B over the last 2 months and has been adopted by leading exchanges such as Jupiter, the top perpetuals exchange on Solana, and GMX, the leading exchange on Arbitrum.

Edge offers a comprehensive, low-latency oracle solution, combining accurate price data with actionable market intelligence. Its advanced architecture ensures the security and efficiency of DeFi applications while providing insights into market dynamics and security risks. Edge monitors the market for specific risk signals, performs the offchain data parsing and computation, and outputs one actionable data point.

Omer Goldberg, CEO and Founder of Chaos Labs, said, “We’re excited to receive the strong confidence and additional support from the PayPal Ventures team. Edge by Chaos is the culmination of our entire company’s work and expertise. Edge Price, Risk, and Proofs deliver meaningful and unmatched contextualized risk and price data for assets including stablecoins and other real-world-assets, in addition to the crypto assets and venues that provide access to them.”

Last month, Chaos Labs announced a $55 million Series A funding round led by Haun Ventures, including prominent new investors such as F-Prime Capital, Slow Ventures, and Spartan Capital, and existing investors including PayPal Ventures. Chaos Labs has experienced significant growth, tripling its customer base and securing billions in trading volume, loans, and incentives.

PayPal Ventures’ investment aligns with PayPal’s ongoing commitment to the blockchain ecosystem. In May 2024, PayPal launched its stablecoin, PYUSD, on the Solana blockchain.

Amman Bhasin, Partner at PayPal Ventures, said, “Our continued investment in Chaos Labs reflects our belief in their vision to create a safer crypto ecosystem and move more financial services on chain. Chaos Labs has emerged as a leading risk authority in the sector and we are thrilled to witness their evolution as they launch innovative products like Edge to mitigate oracle vulnerabilities.”

Chaos Labs will receive the total investment in PYUSD on-chain. A simulation will be shown live on-stage on September 20th at the annual Solana Breakpoint conference in Singapore.

About Chaos Labs

Chaos Labs leads the blockchain risk management industry with innovative solutions for the evolving onchain financial landscape. Chaos Labs enables protocols to verify stability across all market conditions, merging offchain observability with onchain risk parameter adjustments. Backed by leading venture capital firms, Chaos Labs continues to set new standards for security and responsiveness in onchain finance. Founded in 2021, Chaos Labs is headquartered in New York City.

About PayPal Ventures

PayPal Ventures is the global corporate venture arm of PayPal. We invest for financial return in companies at the forefront of innovation in fintech, commerce enablement, digital infrastructure, and crypto/blockchain technologies. Through the expertise, experience, and vast network of PayPal Ventures – and the companies we invest in – we are helping to bring transformative solutions to market faster. For more information, please visit: www.paypal.vc 

 

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SOURCE Chaos Labs, Inc.

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