BoNY Goes After Large RK Clients With New Tech Platform

In a news media release Thursday, BoNY said it will bring in PFPC to handle the technology end of its recordkeeping   including loading payroll tapes and recordkeeping software out of PFPC’s Bloomington, Minnesota facility. However BoNY staff out of its Purchase, New York facility will continue to manage the recordkeeping process, the company said.

BoNY said it is maintaining its Purchase facility with an as-yet undetermined number of layoffs from the current 75-person staff, the company said.

Robert Goldstein, senior vice president and head of the BoNY Employee Investment Plans Division, said BoNY decided it needed a better recordkeeping system to be effective in expanding its targeted clients to the large plans. So BoNY has adopted PFPC’s WySTAR platform as part of its VestedChoice product, Goldstein said.

“We also want to grow into the very large segment of the market and, in order to do that, we needed a more sophisticated technology platform,” Goldstein told PLANSPONSOR.com.

BoNY said the enhanced VestedChoice product will provide sponsors online access to plan information and automation of administrative and payroll processes.

Participants will benefit from enhancements to participant statements, Internet and phone account information systems, and expanded call-center hours.

In his PLANSPONSOR.com interview, Goldstein denied press reports that BoNY was laying off all 75 Purchase workers and getting out of the 401(k) recordkeeping space. “We’re definitely not exiting the business,” Goldstein maintained.