ExpertPlan Completes Sterling Trust Conversion and Rolls out New Qualified Retirement Plan Program

EAST WINDSOR, N.J., Dec. 8, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- ExpertPlan, the leading provider of private label recordkeeping plan services, announced today it has successfully completed a 2,000 retirement plan conversion for Sterling Trust Company (Waco, TX), a wholly owned subsidiary of Equity Trust Company (Elyria, OH).

The converted block of retirement plans consisted of prototype, custom designed plans, defined benefit and Solo(k)'s with the majority predominately invested in non-traditional assets such as real estate, tax liens, precious metals, promissory notes, oil and gas, equipment leasing, renewable energy and much more.

Going forward, all recordkeeping, third party administrative services as well as advisor, participant and plan sponsor support will be handled directly by ExpertPlan, while Sterling Trust Company, will remain the appointed custodian for the plans.

"Based on the number of plans and assets under administration, the completion of this conversion now places ExpertPlan as a leading recordkeeper of non-traditional investments within the industry," said Ross Brown, Senior Vice President of Sales and Relationship Management. "By partnering with Sterling Trust we are able to provide financial advisors and our national network of institutional partners an alternative investment strategy to help their clients diversify beyond today's traditional investment products," added Brown.

Under Sterling Trust's new branded retirement program, the two firms will begin an extensive marketing campaign to small business owners seeking a fully customized platform, offering any type of retirement plan with alternative investments.

"After evaluating other recordkeeping platforms, our decision to move our existing plans to ExpertPlan was due to the scalability and flexibility of their proprietary recordkeeping system and the extensive experience they have with large plan conversions," noted Jeff Kelley, Sterling Trust Chief Operating Officer.

About ExpertPlan:
ExpertPlan Inc., headquartered in East Windsor, New Jersey, is the premier provider of private-labeled recordkeeping services for asset management firms, TPAs, RIAs, broker dealers, insurance companies, CPAs, payroll companies, accountants and banks that serve 401(k) and other defined contribution plans. The firm's scalable recordkeeping solution can be customized to fully integrate with a client's business and distribution models. For more information about ExpertPlan, visit www.ExpertPlan.com

About Sterling Trust: Sterling Trust, a division of Equity Trust Company, is at the forefront of the self-directed retirement plan industry, specializing in the custody of self-directed IRAs, qualified business retirement plans and non-qualified custodial accounts. Sterling Trust and its affiliates provide services to over 128,000 individuals and businesses nationwide with over $10 billion in assets under custodial and retirement administration.  Since 1974, we have provided services to individuals and the financial services industry — including financial advisors and planners, broker-dealers, tax and legal professionals, investment product sponsors, mutual fund companies, banks and other financial institutions.

SOURCE ExpertPlan