The Link Administration Holdings Ltd (ASX: LNK) share price will be one to watch on Wednesday following a major announcement.
What did Link announce?
This morning the administration services provider announced that it has formed a strategic global partnership and minority investment in Smart Pension.
Smart Pension is an award-winning leading workplace pension platform in the UK. Link joins Legal & General and J.P. Morgan who are current equity investors in Smart Pension.
It was launched in 2015 and has established a presence in the rapidly growing UK auto enrolment market and corporate defined contribution market. Smart Pension currently has half a million members and 60,000 employers.
According to the release, the partnership with Smart Pension provides Link with a strong and credible market entry point into the fast-growing UK pension administration market. It also builds on its leading presence in the Australian and New Zealand superannuation markets.
Link will have access to Smart Pension's platform in the UK, with exclusive utilisation of this platform in certain jurisdictions across Europe and Asia. It will also take on the administration for Smart's UK workplace pension operation, including the administration of the fast growing Smart Pension Master Trust. Furthermore, it establishes a Link Group pension and retirement solutions offering in the UK.
The UK pension market represents a major opportunity for Link. The release explains that it is estimated to be US$2.9 trillion in size, making it the third largest in the world.
Link Group's managing director, John McMurtrie, said: "We are impressed by the Smart Pension team and confident in their people and technology capabilities, as well as their extensive understanding of the defined contribution pensions market in the UK."
"This partnership will leverage Link Group's core capabilities and is an example of our strategy to identify attractive adjacent market opportunities aligned with our service strengths, with a pathway to future growth," he added.
Smart Pension's CEO, Andrew Evans, appeared pleased to be teaming up with Link.
Evans said: "This strategic partnership with a world-class player like Link Group significantly strengthens our global expansion plans while giving Link Group access to the UK retirement market and our leading financial products including our innovative at-retirement solution 'Smart Retire'."
"Link Group has been at the forefront of administration in a very successful Australian superannuation market and it continues to invest in state of the art systems. This is a very positive partnership which facilitates both companies entering new markets," he concluded.
