Starting in the first quarter, defined contribution investment only (DCIO) reports will be available to The Standard's fund partners through a new technology portal designed to provide unprecedented access to asset, trading and sales information at a plan level. This engagement represents a milestone in the expansion of Access Data's services for retirement providers and its commitment to creating transparency in the industry among mutual funds, distributors, platforms and retirement plan providers.

With the new DCIO Reporting portal, fund firms offering products on The Standard recordkeeping platform will have timely access and enhanced visibility into sales across retirement plans, as well as a deeper understanding of the advisor selling those plans. This increased level of transparency will provide mutual funds with deeper insight into the advisor-driven retirement market comprised of The Standard and other independent recordkeeping platforms that partner with distributors to offer advisors complete turnkey retirement offerings for small and medium-sized defined contribution plans.

"The collaboration with Access Data and Broadridge to provide our fund partners with DCIO reporting was an easy decision for us," said Dan Hall, VP of Retirement Plan Sales, The Standard. "We view Broadridge as a strategic partner supporting our firm's growth; they already work with us across our platform to help us engage our participants with high impact statements, educational content and communications. Now leveraging their team's data management expertise, we will be able to provide business critical sales information to our fund partners and help accelerate the growth of our advisor-sold plan business."

Defined contribution assets are forecast to grow to $6.7 trillion over the next five years, representing a significant opportunity for mutual funds to increase assets. The key to unlocking that growth lies in knowing where those opportunities exist. The fastest growth segment for defined contribution assets is generated by the small to medium-sized plan segment supported by independent recordkeeping platforms.

Access Data is a leading provider of data management and reporting services for fund firms. Its DCIOConnect offering aggregates and cleanses data across 18 leading independent recordkeeping platforms and the advisor-driven plan market. "As part of Broadridge, Access Data is uniquely positioned to connect retirement recordkeepers with their fund partners to provide important information that helps them grow their businesses," stated Frank Polefrone, Senior Vice President, Access Data. "DCIO reporting and retirement market intelligence is important to both our fund and retirement recordkeeping clients, and we are expanding our offerings to empower our clients to capture asset growth from defined contribution plans."