Strongpoint Partners Announces Partnership with Pension Consultants, Inc.

CHICAGO, IL — January 23, 2025 – Strongpoint Partners (“Strongpoint”), a tech-enabled retirement services platform serving small- to mid-sized businesses with integrated retirement third-party administration, recordkeeping, payroll, and HR solutions, announced a new partnership with Pension Consultants, Inc. (“PCI”), a leader in customized 401(k), traditional pension, cash-balance, and combo retirement solutions that has proudly served the broader New England market for more than 50 years. PCI’s addition furthers Strongpoint’s scale and expertise in full-service custom retirement and actuarial services.

“I had the pleasure of meeting Bill (Anastasiades, President and Principal at PCI) and Frank (Rossi, Vice President and Principal at PCI) for the first time almost two years ago,” said Danny Hest, CEO of Strongpoint Partners. “PCI has a very strong reputation, and Bill and Frank operate on very similar principles to Strongpoint’s core values. It was clear that they were the type of leaders, and had built and sustained the type of organization, that would be a perfect fit for Strongpoint Partners.”

“We really enjoyed meeting Danny, Doug (Simon, Principal and Founder of Strongpoint) and Mike (Heflin, COO of Strongpoint). We found what they were building, and how they were building it, to be distinct and innovative,” said Anastasiades. “As with all businesses of our size and scale (PCI represents roughly 1,500 unique retirement plans), we’d been approached by all the national firms over the years but had never considered doing anything with our business. We are growing, we have an amazing team, we operate in a great market with really valuable partners, and we saw no reason to change anything about what we were doing. But that meeting with the Strongpoint team got us thinking and left a mark.”

“A few months later, we had the chance to spend some time face to face with the Strongpoint team at an ASPPA conference,” said Rossi. “Candidly, we felt comfortable with them from the start. The perspective, the alignment, and the shared vision left the biggest impression.”

“We know that everyone moves at their own pace,” said Jack Toner, VP of Corporate Development for Strongpoint, “but we also knew there was a real opportunity here. Not because Bill and Frank needed to do anything – they certainly didn’t – but because the alignment between PCI and Strongpoint Partners was so clear, and because the value we could create together was more than either organization could do on their own.”

“We keep an eye on the marketplace, like all TPA owners,” continued Anastasiades, “and we kept seeing Strongpoint everywhere. We heard their name from industry colleagues and partners, and we watched as TPAs that we respect trusted their legacy and bet on their future with Strongpoint. All of the TPA partners we spoke with raved about the decision they’d made - for themselves, their business, their clients, their partners, and, most importantly, their employees. None of the other national firms convinced us that we would be able to run our business our way. Most of all, we felt like we were watching as a concept evolved into a fully formed infrastructure, and as a great idea, became one of the leading retirement services platforms in the industry. We weren’t ready to join when this was a concept, but with what Strongpoint has matured into, we felt like it now offered the best possible future for our employees, our business, and for us as leaders, and we are so excited about what the future holds for all of us at Strongpoint Partners.”

“We take a tremendous amount of pride in serving all our Partners,” continued Hest. “Each of them brings a perspective, passion, personality, and vision that is uniquely theirs, and that seems to merge into the existing fabric of Strongpoint and strengthen the connections that have formed between all of our businesses.”

As with all Strongpoint partners, Bill and Frank will continue to lead PCI’s business and sales, and all PCI employees will continue to serve their clients, share their knowledge, support growth, and enhance the collective expertise of all their colleagues across the Strongpoint Partners family of brands.

About Strongpoint Partners

Strongpoint Partners is an Inc. 5000 recognized fast-growing, tech-enabled retirement services platform serving small- to mid-sized businesses with integrated retirement third party administration, recordkeeping, payroll, and HR solutions. Strongpoint’s suite of services prioritizes accuracy, compliance, and reduction of regulatory risk for its clients, delivered by local client success teams that understand the nuances of the markets they serve. With a coast-to-coast network of leading firms including HowardSimon, Jocelyn Pension Consulting, Retirement Strategies Group (“RSG”), Retirement Planners and Administrators (“RPA”), Pension Financial Services (“PFS”), Pollard & Associates, Carlson Quinn, SI GROUP, Retirement Planning Consulting Group (“RPCG”), Karel-Gordon & Associates, Cash Balance Actuaries, and Pension Consultants, Inc. (“PCI”) Strongpoint Partners combines a relentless passion for service and innovation with the experience and expertise required to make retirement work for everyone.

For more information, please visit: www.strongpointpartners.com.

About Pension Consultants, Inc.

Pension Consultants, Inc. is a leader in the field of 401(k), Cash Balance, and combo-plan retirement plan administration. Our team of 36 experienced consultants, actuaries and support staff will help you create and maintain a cost-effective, flexible, and trouble-free retirement plan. We work directly with employers and financial professionals to design custom retirement solutions that maximize outcomes.

PCI was founded in 1971 by Ed Fishman, a visionary who saw a retirement plan consulting need before ERISA or the retirement TPA industry existed. With the critical stewardship of Karin Roche, and dynamic leader Mike Roach in place, PCI thrived through an evolving marketplace and set a standard of excellence in retirement plan consulting and administration. Bill, Frank, and an amazing group of talented employees have stepped up to lead us into PCI’s next chapter, where we proudly stand today.

Based in Farmington, Connecticut, we’ve proudly served the small and mid-size businesses of the broader New England region for 54 years, growing into one of the largest independent retirement TPA’s in the region thanks to our amazing staff, partners, and clients.

For more information, please visit our website at mypensionconsultants.com

About Shore Capital Partners

Shore Capital, a Chicago-based private equity firm with offices in Nashville, is an investor in lower middle market companies in the Healthcare, Food and Beverage, Business Services, Industrial, and Real Estate industries. Shore’s strategy is to support management partners to grow faster with less risk through access to capital, world-class board and operational resources, and unmatched networking, development, and shared learnings across the portfolio. From 2020-2024, Shore received recognition from Inc Magazine as a 5x Top Founder Friendly Investor and by Pitchbook Research for being the global leader in Private Equity total deal volume from 2019-2023. Shore targets investments in proven, successful private companies with superior management teams, stable cash flow, and significant potential to grow through industry consolidation and organic growth to generate value for shareholders. Shore has approximately $11.5 billion of assets under management and in additional investment platforms to which it provides business and operational consulting services.

For more information, including with respect to these awards and investment platforms, please visit: www.shorecp.com.