Pensco pulls off 'game changer' of an acquisition

Pensco Trust Co. is buying Lincoln Trust Co.'s IRA business. The deal, expected to close next month, will boost Pensco's individual retirement account assets to more than $10 billion, from $4 billion, the company said. The purchase will also increase its client base to 57,000 account holders, from 17,000. The new accounts also will give Pensco an additional 6,000 adviser relationships, a substantial hike from the 200 advisers with which it now deals, the firms said in a statement. “It's a game changer for us,” Kelly Rodriques, Pensco's chief executive, said in an interview.

TECH PLATFORM

Pensco also is acquiring Lincoln's technology platform, which will give it capabilities to handle standard assets such as funds, stocks and exchange-traded funds, he said. Private equity and real estate make up about three-quarters of the firm's assets. Terms of the deal weren't disclosed. Once it exits the IRA business, Lincoln Trust will focus on its business of providing 401(k) and other retirement plans, the company said. Lincoln “will have greater resources to serve clients and build on its market leadership” in the retirement plan industry, chief executive Bob Beriault said in a statement. Independent custodians have benefited from the growing interest in alternatives and a move by larger custodians to dump nonpriced assets from their platforms. djamieson@investmentnews.com