T. Rowe Price to Buy Income-Planning Software Maker
The fund giant is acquiring Retiree Inc. to help it increase "the longevity of a retirement income strategy" for clients, it says.
T. Rowe Price, the global investment management firm and retirement plan service provider, has struck a deal to purchase Retiree Inc., a fintech firm focused on retirement income planning software.
The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but according to a statement published by T. Rowe Price on Thursday, the transaction is expected to close during the second quarter of 2023, subject to satisfaction of “certain closing conditions.”
In the statement, Dee Sawyer, head of retirement plan services and U.S. intermediaries at T. Rowe Price, says the integration of Retiree Inc.’s planning technology will help millions of Americans more confidently prepare, save for and live in retirement.
News of the acquisition comes after a self-professed “extremely difficult” 2022 for T. Rowe Price, which saw its assets under management slide nearly 25% during the year, falling to about $1.3 trillion in AUM from nearly $1.7 trillion. The firm also laid off 2% of its workforce as it sought to cut costs.
According to Sawyer, the acquired income planning software will be an important part of the firm’s strategy to build personalized retirement income solutions and services for clients.
“Retiree Inc. and T. Rowe Price share the passion and understanding that increasing the longevity of a retirement income strategy is critical to improving retirement outcomes for Americans,” she says.
As detailed in the statement, Retiree Inc.’s tax-aware income planning software provides a personalized income strategy by drawing from a household’s accounts according to their different tax treatments, and it can also factor in Roth conversion strategies, all with the goal of increasing the lifetime value of total after-tax income and bequest value.
Phil Korenman, head of individual investors at T. Rowe Price, says investors are increasingly looking to their advisors and financial services providers for more comprehensive education and support in navigating the complexities and trade-offs of retirement.
“The acquisition will provide T. Rowe Price [with] a new ability to meet this need at scale and more thoroughly deliver the strategies, tools and confidence millions of people need to live the retirement they envision,” he says.
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