MissionSquare expands from recordkeeping into participant wealth

MissionSquare Retirement is adding a brokerage and a robo-adviser to its offerings, moving from plan recordkeeping into the wider financial lives of participants. PLANADVISER reports the new personal wealth management division combines a brokerage for individual retirement and taxable accounts with a robo-adviser for the same kinds of accounts.

CEO Andre Robinson says the decision grew out of years of participant conversations that started with retirement education and continued from there. "More often than not, the conversations will expand beyond retirement," he told PLANADVISER. "After years of us evaluating some of those discussions, this was the next logical progression for us." MissionSquare is partnering with Apex Fintech Solutions, which will handle trade execution and custody through its Apex Clearing Corp. subsidiary.

Shannon Hogendorn will lead the new unit. He joined in the first quarter of 2025 as head of wealth management and now becomes president of the rebranded broker/dealer, MissionSquare Wealth Management. Betsy Schroeder, head of personal wealth management products, joins him in the subsidiary. Robinson says more strategic hires are planned for late 2026 into 2027.

Recordkeepers have been edging toward wealth management for years. MissionSquare's version stands out because of the base it starts from: more than $73.6 billion in administered assets across 457(b), 401(a), 403(b), retirement health savings and affiliated IRA accounts as of June 30. Behind that number are households that already trust the firm with retirement money. The question is whether that trust extends to a robo-adviser in a market where big digital brokerages have already driven fees down. MissionSquare has a head start from the retirement relationship, but it still has to win the broader market.