PensionBee announces expansion into US market

PensionBee Group announced its expansion into the United States, the world's largest defined contribution pension market, on Thursday.

The London-listed company said that with $22.5trn in assets, the US market represented about 80% of the global total.

Its wholly-owned US subsidiary, PensionBee Inc, was now registered as an investment adviser with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

PensionBee added that it had entered into a strategic agreement with State Street Global Advisors (SSGA), a major US-based financial institution.

The company explained that the partnership would build on its existing collaboration in the UK, where SSGA manages certain PensionBee investment portfolios.

It said the agreement would enable PensionBee to offer its online retirement proposition and proprietary technology to US consumers, allowing them to consolidate and roll over their 401(k) plans and Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) into a new PensionBee IRA.

PensionBee said it would offer a range of investment portfolios exclusively consisting of SSGA-managed exchange traded funds (ETFs).

SSGA would also provide significant marketing support as PensionBee employs its data-led, multi-channel customer acquisition strategy to attract new customers.

The company said it was aiming for rapid growth in the US, targeting the administration of $20bn to $25bn in US defined contribution assets over the next decade, matching the significance of its UK business.

In the UK, PensionBee manages over £5bn in assets under administration (AUA) for more than 250,000 invested customers.

The company said it was aiming to capture around 2% of the £1.2trn UK pensions market over the next five to 10 years, targeting one million customers and £20bn to £25bn in AUA.

Having achieved ongoing adjusted EBITDA profitability at the end of 2023, PensionBee said it expected to maintain profitability in the UK on an adjusted EBITDA basis for the full 2024 financial year.

“In the year of our 10th anniversary since founding PensionBee, we are delighted to expand the reach of our award-winning customer proposition, innovative technology platform and unique marketing approach to the US market,” said chief executive officer Romi Savova.

“By entering the world's largest defined contribution 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.”

At 1202 BST, shares in PensionBee Group were up 4.55% at 161.54p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.