Truist Financial is selling off its 401(k) unit, the company announced on Wednesday, January 6. Terms of the transactions were not disclosed.

Why should we care?
Truist is the nation’s sixth-largest bank. The sell-off of its 401(k) business marks a new phase in its evolution, following its creation in 2019 after the merger of BB&T and SunTrust banks. Per plans announced, OneDigital will acquire the bank’s 401(k) investment advisory business, giving it 1,200 new plans, representing an additional $10B in assets under advisement. In addition, Ascensus and Empower Retirement will acquire Truist’s institutional 401(k) record-keeping businesses. The Truist business acquired by Ascensus covers more than 1,200 plans with about 125,000 participants and $5B in assets. Meanwhile, Empower will buy SunTrust’s 401(k) recordkeeping business, which includes approximately 300 retirement plans consisting of more than 73,000 plan participants and $5B in plan assets. Empower currently provides recordkeeping services for Truist through its private-label retirement plan unit Empower Institutional.