Online retirement planning start-up Guideline has completed a USD7 million series A round of financing led by Propel Venture Partners, with participation by existing investors including NEA and Lerer Hippeau Ventures.
"The employer based retirement plans market is immense, having grown from USD4.4 trillion in 2014 to over USD6 trillion by 20161, and participants in small business 401(k) plans are paying exorbitant fees on their assets, ranging between 0.68 per cent and 2.66 per cent," says Ryan Gilbert, partner at Propel Venture Partners. "Guideline is changing the 'high-fee low-growth' game by focusing on 401(k) growth, without collecting fees based on the size of a participant's retirement portfolio. We're extremely excited about the way Guideline is rethinking and rebuilding small business retirement plans."
Guideline is the first and only 100 per cent automatically managed 401(k) offering that does not charge or benefit from asset-based investment fees. Guideline's full stack technology handles all plan administration, payroll automation, payroll integration, recordkeeping, investment management, and compliance. Guideline helps companies provide a successful retirement for their employees through a hassle-free experience.
"Guideline reimagines retirement planning," says Guideline CEO Kevin Busque, co-founder of the online and mobile marketplace TaskRabbit. "Our structure, user experience, and pricing model reflect the needs of employers and employees in today's economy. We believe it is time to give employers the sleek, efficient, intuitive 401(k) plan their employees deserve."
