Empower / Personal Capital 2020
Empower Retirement acquired Personal Capital for $1.0B on June 29, 2020.
- Target
- Personal Capital
- Acquirer
- Empower Retirement
- Deal value
- $1.0B
- Deal type
- Cash
- Announced
- June 29, 2020
- Sub-sector
- Wealthtech
Transaction overview
- Empower Retirement announced the acquisition of Personal Capital on June 29, 2020 for up to $1 billion in cash.
- The deal included $825 million at close plus up to $175 million in contingent payments tied to future performance.
- The transaction closed on August 17, 2020, roughly seven weeks after announcement.
- Personal Capital is a Redwood City-based digital wealth manager offering free financial planning tools and fee-based advisory accounts.
- Personal Capital reported approximately $12.3 billion in assets under management at the time of the deal.
- Empower Retirement, a subsidiary of Great-West Lifeco, administered retirement savings for roughly 9.7 million Americans at announcement.
- Empower sought to add direct-to-consumer wealth management to its existing workplace retirement plan business.
Why it matters
- The deal was among the largest acquisitions of a US digital wealth manager at the time, surpassing most prior wealthtech exits by dollar value.
- It signaled that large retirement plan administrators were moving to capture retail wealth management relationships outside the workplace channel.
Strategic rationale
Empower buys hybrid digital advice platform with $13B AUM to extend retirement business into broader wealth management for mass affluent.
Deal terms & multiples
About Personal Capital
Personal Capital was founded in 2009 and headquartered in Redwood City, California. The company offered a free suite of personal finance and portfolio tracking tools, which it used to convert users into clients of its registered investment advisory business. At the time of the acquisition, it managed approximately $12.3 billion in assets for around 26,000 advisory clients. The firm had raised over $265 million in venture funding from investors including IGM Financial, TIAA, and Corsair Capital.
- Founded
- 2009
- HQ
- United States
- Prior funding
- ~$265 million in total venture funding
- Key metric
- ~$12.3 billion in assets under management at close
About Empower Retirement
Empower Retirement is a Denver-based retirement services provider and a subsidiary of Great-West Lifeco, itself a subsidiary of Power Corporation of Canada. At the time of the acquisition, Empower administered defined contribution plans for approximately 9.7 million participants across roughly 67,000 employer plans. The company had grown through a series of acquisitions, including the purchase of Putnam Investments' retirement business and JPMorgan's retirement plan business. Empower is not publicly traded as a standalone entity.
- Founded
- 1891
Frequently asked questions
How much did Empower pay for Personal Capital?
Empower paid $825 million at close, with up to $175 million more in contingent payments, for a total potential deal value of $1 billion.
When did the Empower and Personal Capital deal close?
The acquisition closed on August 17, 2020, approximately seven weeks after the June 29, 2020 announcement.
What does Personal Capital do?
Personal Capital offers free digital financial planning and portfolio tracking tools, and charges fees for discretionary investment advisory services. At acquisition it managed about $12.3 billion for roughly 26,000 advisory clients.
Why did Empower acquire Personal Capital?
Empower wanted to extend its reach beyond workplace retirement plans into direct-to-consumer wealth management. Personal Capital's free-tool-to-advisory funnel gave Empower a retail client acquisition model it did not have organically.
Who owns Empower Retirement?
Empower is a subsidiary of Great-West Lifeco, which is controlled by Power Corporation of Canada. Empower does not trade as a standalone public company.
How much had Personal Capital raised before the acquisition?
Personal Capital raised approximately $265 million in venture funding before the deal, with backers including IGM Financial, TIAA, and Corsair Capital.
Sources
- empower.com /the-currency/work/empower-retirement-acquire-personal-capital