Fully-automated 401(k) platform provides added legal protection ahead of DoL Rule’s April compliance deadline

NEW YORK, NY, November 15, 2016 - Vestwell, the industry’s first and only fiduciary, white-labeled retirement platform for the RIA community and beyond, announced today that it has secured an advisory firm partnership with Kovack Advisors, Inc, an SEC registered investment advisor. Vestwell’s retirement plan management solution will be offered through The Kovack Choice 401(k).

Vestwell’s digital platform combines the best parts of automated investing with a human touch. In addition to allowing for automatic plan testing and enrollment of plan participants, and generating fully-compliant notices and agreements, the product suite includes investment services, trading, administration, custody, recordkeeping, and trustee services. Vestwell can also act as 3(38) and 3(16),taking on as much of the fiduciary responsibility as is allowable by ERISA and reducing legal liability related to retirement plan asset advisement.

“Advisors are concerned about the U.S. Department of Labor’s ‘fiduciary’ rule and want to reduce their risk of non-compliance. At Vestwell, we take on that risk on behalf of both advisors and plan sponsors, while also delivering a turnkey, time-saving solution that boosts efficiency to make offering retirement plan services good business again,” said Aaron Schumm, CEO of Vestwell. “We’re thrilled to be partnering with such a forward-thinking, industry-leading firm like Kovack Advisors on our white-label platform with them.”

“At Kovack Advisors, we are dedicated to providing our clients and affiliated advisors with the latest technology to both enhance our service offerings and quickly adapt to the latest DoL rules and regulations,” said Chris Mills, Executive Vice President of Kovack Advisors, Inc. “Vestwell’s innovative retirement platform retirement plan management solution makes it possible for advisors to offer defined contribution plans again, even if they previously shied away from them because of the hassle and risk of previous solutions.”

The Kovack Choice 401(k) platform is currently available to select advisor clients and will be available to all Kovack Advisor Inc.’s clients in the fourth quarter. For more information on Vestwell or to inquire about a white-label platform, please visit: http://www.vestwell.com. For more information regarding Kovack Advisors go to www.kovackadvisors.com and/or advisorinfo.sec.gov.

About Vestwell Holdings, Inc.

Vestwell Advisors, LLC, a 3(38) and 3(21) SEC registered investment advisory firm, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Vestwell Holdings, Inc., specializing in 401(k) and other defined contribution retirement investment management services. Built by an experienced team with an average of 18 years of financial technology experience and led by CEO Aaron Schumm, Vestwell assumes 3(38) and 3(16) fiduciary responsibility on the behalf of advisors and firms. Learn more at Vestwell.com.

This is not an offer, solicitation, or advice to buy or sell securities in jurisdictions where Vestwell Advisors is not registered. An investor should consider investment objectives, risks and expenses before investing. More information is available within Vestwell Advisors’ ADV. There are risks involved with investing. Investors should consider all of their assets, income and investments. Portfolios are subject to change. All opinions and results included in this publication constitute Vestwell Advisors’ judgment as of the date of this publication and are subject to change without notice.