GROUPIRA leverages collective buying power to help reduce investor costs within IRAs. Using Relius Connect, GROUPIRA provides individual investors with the ability to seamlessly open new Traditional and Roth IRAs, or rollover former employer retirement accounts online.

GROUPIRA chose Relius Connect, integrated with both Relius Documents plan document generation and Relius Administration record keeping solutions, to help provide a faster and more efficient method for new account openings. Relius Connect uses Web services to facilitate the flow of plan and participant data between custom-developed client applications and the Relius Administration and/or Documents systems in order to automate processes such as entering transactions and setting up new plans. Using GROUPIRA, clients can originate an account using an online form and receive requisite notices and disclosures on IRA fees, rules, requirements, and penalties. Once account origination is complete, clients can instantly use the Relius mobile participant solution to access their accounts online.

Petros Koumantaros, co-founder and chairman of GROUPIRA, INC., said, "With Relius Connect, the time and manual effort associated with opening accounts has been reduced, and there is greater interest in GROUPIRA now that online account origination has been introduced. The integration with Relius Administration provides us with efficiencies and an online offering that gives us the flexibility to enhance or add new services in the future."

Ken Simons, senior vice president for SunGard's Relius solutions, said, "Efficient account opening is crucial in today's retirement services environment. Relius Connect is helping innovative firms like GROUPIRA ensure streamlined service and operations, leverage recordkeeping information to build custom Web pages or applications, and enhance their ability to meet future client needs and business goals."