Liden, Nestle, Soled & Associates

What Liden, Nestle, Soled & Associates does

Liden, Nestle, Soled & Associates, Inc. (LNS) is a retirement plan consulting and third-party administration (TPA) firm headquartered in Westlake Village, California. Founded in 1989 by principals Raymond W. Liden and Judy Soled, the firm designs, implements, and administers qualified retirement plans for business owners and management teams across Southern California, with a client base spanning sole proprietorships to companies with thousands of employees. Core plan offerings include 401(k) plans, profit sharing plans, defined benefit and cash balance pension plans, and combination plan designs, delivered through a proprietary four-step "Building Blocks Methodology" that integrates client demographics, goals, and IRS-compliant plan optimization.

Supporting service lines include plan administration, actuarial consulting, fiduciary liability mitigation under ERISA Section 3(21) and 3(38), compliance and discrimination testing, trust accounting, institutional due diligence, troubled plan rehabilitation, voluntary compliance program filings, and participant education. The firm holds professional association memberships with ASPPA and NIPA, and distributes services through a direct consultative sales motion supplemented by referral relationships with leading legal and accounting firms. No proprietary technology platform is operated; the firm uses standard retirement plan administration software alongside a website (lnstpa.com) hosting educational content and a Retirement Plan Quiz lead-generation tool.

The business operates as a private professional services firm with custom, non-publicly-disclosed pricing and no venture or institutional backing disclosed prior to its February 2026 acquisition by Strongpoint Partners. As of that transaction, LNS was merged into Strongpoint's Actuaries Unlimited platform, and founder Ray Liden began a transition toward retirement, ending LNS's independent operating history after more than 35 years.

Name

Liden, Nestle, Soled & Associates

Legal name

Liden, Nestle, Soled & Associates, Inc.

Website

https://lnstpa.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1989

Operating status

Acquired

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Liden, Nestle, Soled & Associates is a Southern California retirement plan consulting and TPA firm that designs and administers 401(k), profit sharing, defined benefit, and cash balance plans for SMBs. Founded in 1989, it was acquired by Strongpoint Partners and merged into Actuaries Unlimited in February 2026.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Retirement Plan Administration

NAICS

Pharmacy Benefit Management and Other Third Party Administration of Insurance and Pension Funds (524292), Pension Funds (525110), Agencies, Brokerages, and Other Insurance Related Activities (5242)

SIC

Insurance Agents, Brokers & Service (6411)

akta.pro primary industry

Employer Retirement Plan Advisory (401(k)/Pension) (FSAEABAE)

Keywords

• Retirement plan consulting
• Third-party administration
• Pension plan design
• 401(k) administration
• ERISA compliance services

Headquarters

HQ city

Westlake Village

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Retirement Plan Consulting and Design: LNS provides consulting services for retirement plan design, including entity structure analysis, tax deduction optimization, and retirement accumulation planning. Revenue is generated through professional service fees for custom plan design and implementation.
2. Third-Party Administration (TPA): Ongoing plan administration services including annual analysis, compliance testing, IRS/DOL/PBGC form preparation, distribution processing, and fiduciary liability mitigation services (Section 3(21) and 3(38) options).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Liden, Nestle, Soled & Associates is described in internal notes as a retirement plan consulting and third-party administration (TPA) firm that designs, implements, and administers qualified retirement plans for businesses, acting as a co-fiduciary partner. However, no external source data with a verifiable WX-prefixed source ID was provided to corroborate this description.

Product overview

Liden, Nestle, Soled & Associates, Inc. (LNS) is a premier retirement plan consulting and third-party administrative (TPA) firm serving Southern California since 1989. The company operates as a unified platform offering comprehensive retirement plan services, anchored by its proprietary Building Blocks Methodology for customized plan design. The core product portfolio includes 401(k) Plans, Profit Sharing Plans, and Defined Benefit/Cash Balance Pension Plans, with supporting administrative services such as Actuarial Consulting, Fiduciary Liability Mitigation, Compliance/Discrimination Testing, and Participant Education. The firm guides clients ranging from sole proprietorships to companies with thousands of employees through qualified retirement plan design, implementation, and administration.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• Plan sponsors receive customized retirement plan designs tailored to specific business goals, demographics, and tax optimization needs
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.

• Strongpoint Partners / Actuaries UnlimitedflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 February 2026LNS (Liden, Nestle, Soled & Associates) was acquired by Strongpoint Partners and merged into its Actuaries Unlimited (AUI) platform. This strategic acquisition brings LNS's Southern California TPA expertise into the Strongpoint Partners network. Founder Ray Liden is preparing for retirement as part of this transaction. The acquisition expands AUI's footprint with LNS's established client base and expertise.
• American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries (ASPPA)coreOthersLNS is a member of ASPPA, a professional organization for pension professionals. Membership provides industry credibility, continuing education, and professional development opportunities. The firm participates in the ASPPA network of retirement plan specialists.
• National Institute of Pension Administrators (NIPA)coreOthersLNS is a member of NIPA, a professional association for pension administrators. Membership demonstrates professional credentials and commitment to industry standards in retirement plan administration.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Strongpoint Partners: PE-backed retirement plan, actuarial, and wealth management platform that acquired LNS. Strongpoint is the parent/holding platform for multiple TPAs across the U.S., making it both owner and macro benchmark for LNS's value as a tuck-in.
• Empower Retirement: One of the largest U.S. retirement plan recordkeepers and TPAs serving plans of all sizes from SMB to enterprise. Differentiates LNS as the boutique, high-touch alternative for plan sponsors wanting personalized service versus Empower's scale/technology.
• Ascensus (TPA Services): Large national TPA and recordkeeping platform serving retirement plans of all sizes with proprietary technology stack. Serves as the benchmark scale competitor for plan sponsors comparing a regional TPA like LNS against national alternatives.

Emerging players

• Vestwell: Technology-driven retirement plan administration platform competing for the same SMB plan-sponsor market with automated, lower-cost recordkeeping, advisory, and pooled plan services. Represents the fintech-driven competitive threat to traditional TPAs like LNS.

Direct peers

• Sentinel Pension & Wealth Advisors: Regional TPA and retirement plan advisory firm serving businesses with 401(k), defined benefit, and cash balance plans with a similar consultative, concierge-style delivery model. Comparable in size, services, and SMB/mid-market focus.
• DWC - The 401(k) Specialists: Regional third-party administrator focused exclusively on 401(k) plan design, implementation, and ongoing administration for businesses. Direct competitor for LNS's core 401(k) design and administration offering.
• American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries (ASPPA) network firms: ASPPA is the principal U.S. trade association for small and mid-market TPAs, with member firms providing directly comparable 401(k), DB, and profit sharing design, administration, and compliance testing. Member firms collectively represent LNS's competitive set.
• Actuaries Unlimited (AUI): Now the absorbing platform within Strongpoint Partners that merged LNS in. AUI is a Southern California-based retirement plan administration and actuarial consulting firm providing nearly identical 401(k), DB, and cash balance administration — the most direct operational counterpart post-merger.
• Pinnacle Retirement Plans: Independent retirement plan consulting and third-party administration firm offering 401(k), profit sharing, and cash balance plan services to small and mid-sized employers. Directly comparable on service mix, client size band, and consulting-led delivery.
• National Institute of Pension Administrators (NIPA) member firms: NIPA is the trade association specifically for pension plan administrators running third-party administration shops. NIPA-member firms compete head-to-head with LNS for the same SMB and mid-market plan sponsors on administration, compliance testing, and consulting.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/Liden-Nestle-Soled-Associates-Inc-828308647265674

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Liden, Nestle, Soled & Associates