The small business-focused PEP helps advisors easily set up and serve more 401(k) clients.

Waco, Texas, September 22, 2021 – July Business Services (JULY) announces Launch401k PEP, a cost-competitive Pooled Employer 401(k) Plan (PEP) designed specifically for small businesses.  The offering combines simple yet flexible plan design, investment management by Expand Financial (Expand), and is supported by JULY’s proprietary technology to simplify plan setup and management. By making plans simpler, less expensive, and easier to set up and manage, Launch401k PEP helps improve client retention and reduces the advisor’s workload.

With Launch401k PEP, JULY serves as the Pooled Plan Provider (PPP) and 3(16) administrative fiduciary – taking on the burdensome tasks that otherwise fall on a business owner’s shoulders.  Three plan designs offer flexibility in addressing the tax and savings goals common to many small businesses while remaining easy to set up and operate. 

In its role as 3(38) investment fiduciary, Expand selects, monitors and reports on a core investment lineup. Advisors and their clients may also select from an array of target date funds, risk-based managed portfolios, and / or participant-level managed accounts.

“Small business owners deserve more than a one-size-fits-all investment menu. Our approach combines a cost-efficient core line-up with choice in the managed component to give advisors and their clients real flexibility in tailoring a solution that fits,” says Greg Bakke, CEO of Expand.

To reduce the burden on participating employers, JULY built specialized software to handle payroll files and participant notice delivery. Payroll Pilot integrates with and validates imports from QuickBooks Online and more than 50 other payroll providers. JULY’s participant notice delivery system handles both electronic and paper-based delivery of required plan communications. 

In early 2022, JULY will release an online 401(k) setup system for Launch401k PEP where advisors can quickly set up new 401(k) plans for their small business clients via JULY’s proprietary advisor portal technology. 

“The JULY team is passionate about making retirement plans more affordable and simpler to operate for advisors and their small business clients.  Launch401k PEP leverages our 25 years of industry experience and our software development strength to help reduce the retirement coverage gap that exists among small business workers,” says John Humphrey, CEO of JULY.

About JULY:

JULY is a 401(k) services company specializing in hi-touch, tech-enabled retirement plan services. Our employees have served as plan experts to advisory firms and employers in the small and micro 401(k)plan market for over 25 years. Over the last decade, our in-house software development team has built a host of proprietary technology solutions to streamline, automate and simplify all facets of retirement planning to make processes rewarding and easy for our clients. For more information about JULY, visit our website.

About Expand:

Expand is a Registered Investment Advisory Firm that specializes in supporting advisors, broker dealers, recordkeepers, and other financial institutions in their effort to serve the 401(k) plan market.  Expand’s flexible service model supports all types of advisors and institutions, including those that offer 401(k) as a core part of their business and firms where 401(k) is a secondary part of what they do.  Whether serving as a direct plan fiduciary or in a back-office capacity, Expand brings expertise and proprietary technology to the 401(k) investment management process.  For more information about Expand, visit www.expandfinancial.com.