Vanguard Partners With EQ To Offer Stock Plan Administration To 401(k) Participants

VALLEY FORGE, Pa., Feb. 19, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Vanguard, a leading provider of defined contribution (DC) recordkeeping and investment management services, today announced a partnership with EQ, a leading shareholder services company, to provide equity compensation services to plan sponsor clients and their participants. The offer will enable employers to seamlessly integrate their employee equity compensation plan with their existing DC plan and provide participants with an intuitive, one-stop platform designed to simplify administration, streamline transactions, and inform financial decisions.

"Vanguard continues to introduce integrated, technology-fueled solutions to meet the evolving needs of plan sponsor clients and participants," said Martha King, managing director of Vanguard's Institutional Investor Group. "Our partnership with EQ underscores our mission of helping millions of individuals save for a secure retirement by providing participants with a comprehensive suite of tools they need to achieve their financial goals."

Plan sponsors who elect to add employee compensation services will benefit from EQ's world-class technology platform, featuring real-time financial analysis, modeling tools, and support of multiple languages and currencies, integrated within Vanguard's existing participant web portal. Redesigned in 2017, Vanguard's personalized online participant experience provides capabilities such as the Retirement Readiness Tool and Personalized Participant Journeys intended to help participants balance their financial goals and save for the future.

"We are delighted to serve Vanguard's clients with our market-leading equity compensation services," said EQ U.S.A. CEO Todd May. "With a shared commitment and passion for integrity, focus, and stewardship, our partnership will support our joint clients' objectives in providing holistic financial wellness."

With more than $1.6 trillion in DC assets under management, Vanguard is a strategic partner to thousands of plan sponsors and helps more than 5 million participants save for retirement. Through a combination of proprietary solutions and strategic partnerships, the firm continually develops innovative ways to improve participant outcomes. Vanguard's relentless focus on plan design innovation, a key retirement readiness driver, means plan participants benefit from the firm's leading plan design capabilities, enduring investment options, and retirement thought leadership.

Vanguard also partners with leading firms such as The Newport Group to provide non-qualified plan administration for its 401(k) clients. Most recently, in 2019, the firm partnered with HealthEquity, the nation's leading independent health savings account (HSA) custodian, to offer an integrated HSA option for sponsors and their participants.

About Vanguard
Vanguard is one of the world's largest investment management companies. As of January 31, 2020, Vanguard managed $6.2 trillion in global assets. The firm, headquartered in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, offers 425 funds to its more than 30 million investors worldwide. For more information, visit vanguard.com.

About EQ U.S.A.
EQ U.S.A. provides transfer agent, equity compensation and proxy solicitation services that help companies reduce risk, realize efficiencies and improve shareholder experiences. EQ U.S.A. has been helping the world's leading brands raise capital, incentivize employees and service shareholders while staying compliant since 1929.

EQ U.S.A. is responsible for nearly 5 million shareholders in the U.S.A and 23 million globally, the company issues more than $300 billion in payments each year across the globe¹. EQ U.S.A's purpose is to care for every customer and simplify each and every transaction, delivering the highest levels of service through an effortless and enjoyable experience.

EQ U.S.A. is a part of Equiniti Group plc, listed on the London Stock Exchange, delivering payments, administration and technology services to organizations globally.

About EQ (Equiniti Group plc)
EQ is an international technology-led services and payments specialist, providing non-discretionary payment and administration services to some of the world's best-known brands and the UK's largest public-sector organizations.

It is the UK's leading provider of share registration, employee share plans, and associated investor services, and has market leading positions in pension administration and software, and employee benefit schemes.

Equiniti's services, which are delivered by over 5,000 employees, benefit 36 million people in the UK and 120 countries around the world².

All investing is subject to risk, including the possible loss of the money you invest.
All figures as of Jan. 31, 2020 unless otherwise noted.

¹ As of Dec. 31, 2019

² As of Dec. 31, 2019

SOURCE The Vanguard Group Inc

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