Q: For those unfamiliar with Pontera, can you explain what the company does and what problem you’re solving for financial advisers and their clients?
Zachary Pardes: Pontera is a fintech company on a mission to help millions of Americans retire better by enabling financial advisors to manage, balance, and report on clients’ assets in 401(k)s, 403(b)s, and other workplace-sponsored accounts.
For tens of millions of Americans, the 401(k) is their largest financial asset—and yet it’s often excluded from the holistic portfolio management many advisors promise their clients. While many retirement savers want professional guidance, an advisor’s ability to help manage workplace retirement accounts alongside the rest of a client’s portfolio has historically been limited. As a result, savers are frequently left to navigate complex investment decisions on their own or inadvertently make choices that can increase costs and risk.
Pontera closes that gap. Our secure, purpose-built platform allows advisors to manage workplace retirement accounts alongside taxable and other tax-deferred assets, without requiring rollovers out of employer-sponsored plans. This helps advisors deliver more comprehensive investment management, align risk across accounts, and improve financial outcomes—while allowing savers to keep the benefits and protections of their existing plans.
Q: Can you walk us through how Pontera’s platform works from a security and compliance perspective and how you safeguard customer information?
ZP: Security and compliance are core to how Pontera is built and operated.
Pontera uses a secure, client-permissioned connection model that allows advisors to manage workplace retirement accounts without directly accessing or storing client login credentials. Assets remain in the employer-sponsored plan, and the platform is purpose-built to avoid or introduce unnecessary risk—that is, advisors cannot withdraw funds, change beneficiaries, or adjust contributions.
From a compliance standpoint, advisor actions on Pontera are logged and time-stamped with a full, uneditable rebalancing record. This helps to create a clear audit trail that aligns with fiduciary standards, including DOL PTE 2020-02, and supports firm-level supervision and oversight.
Pontera applies a layered security approach, aligned with leading industry frameworks. We maintain enterprise-grade security certifications, including SOC 2 Type 2 and ISO 27001, and comply with privacy regulations such as the California Consumer Privacy Act.
Data is encrypted and our systems are continuously monitored for threats. Together, these safeguards ensure advisors can deliver trusted guidance while retirement savers’ information and assets remain protected.
Q: As digital tools enable more comprehensive retirement planning, what are some of Pontera’s key policy priorities to enable the responsible use of technology?
ZP: Our policy priorities are about providing choice for retirement savers.
Most people don’t choose their 401(k) plan—their employer does. They often can’t move those assets without changing jobs or retiring. That reality makes holistic financial planning difficult for millions of Americans who want comprehensive advice from their trusted financial advisor.
We support consumer authorization and data rights. Savers should be able to securely share their financial information and choose who helps manage it, consistent with long-standing principles around data aggregation and competition in financial services.
We also support clear regulatory guardrails that distinguish between advice, technology, and custody. Platforms like Pontera are purpose-built to allow advisors to view and rebalance accounts without taking custody of assets or credentials.
Finally, as 401(k)s grow more complex with new investment options and structures, access to personalized, advisor-led guidance becomes even more important. Smart policy can strengthen retirement security by putting participants first, expanding choice, and ensuring technology is used responsibly to support better outcomes.
Q: What other innovations is Pontera bringing to retirement planning, and how is technology changing what’s possible for advisers and their clients?
ZP: Pontera enables advisors to manage workplace retirement accounts as part of a unified investment strategy—allowing for better asset allocation across taxable and tax-deferred accounts, more consistent risk management, and smarter long-term planning.
We’re also focused on reducing operational friction. By integrating with portfolio management and reporting tools, Pontera allows advisors to monitor and manage 401(k)s alongside other client assets without adding complexity to their workflows.
More broadly, technology is shifting expectations. Clients increasingly want confidence that their entire financial picture is being managed. Advisors who can deliver that level of coordination are better positioned to build trust, strengthen relationships, and deliver better outcomes over time.
Q: What’s something happening in the retirement planning space right now that more people should be paying attention to but aren’t?
ZP: Recently, we’ve seen large financial incumbents place strict limits on how retirement savers can choose to manage their money, including tapping a financial advisor of their choosing. Under the guise of security and saver protection, some incumbents have gone so far as to lock retirement savers out of their own accounts.
Safeguards matter, and recordkeepers play a critical role in protecting plans. But this also raises questions about how much choice participants really have when it comes to advice and planning.
What deserves more attention is striking the right balance: protecting participants while still allowing them to choose who advises them and how their data is used. We believe that retirement savers have a right to choose to get advice on their retirement plan from a financial advisor they know and trust.
As retirement planning becomes more digital and interconnected, those choices will have a real impact on competition, innovation, and ultimately retirement outcomes.