National Employers Retirement Trust

What National Employers Retirement Trust does

National Employers Retirement Trust (NERT) is a multi-employer retirement plan trust founded in 1965 and administered by Thomas F. Barrett, Inc. from Bethesda, Maryland. NERT provides pension and benefits administration services — including plan design, compliance testing, trust recordkeeping, and IRS reporting — to small and medium-sized firms and their employees, with a particular focus on members of professional associations such as the American Psychological Association, the District of Columbia Dental Society, and NUCA. The offering spans qualified plan types (401(k), 403(b), 457, defined benefit, defined contribution, profit sharing, money purchase, target benefit, Keogh, and SEP), supported by an online participant portal (nert.invlink.com) that delivers daily-priced account access, enrollment, fund exchanges, and transaction processing. Plan assets are custodied by Sandy Spring Bank as trustee, with Euclid Investment Advisory serving as investment adviser and Acorn Financial Advisory constructing the NERT Model Allocations.

Revenue is generated primarily through a trust recordkeeping and administration expense factor of 0.00233% daily (equivalent to 0.85% annually) applied to the average daily balance of plan assets. NERT curates eleven external investment fund options (from managers including Artisan Partners, Dodge & Cox, Hennessy, MetLife, Pimco, T. Rowe Price, Wellington, Allspring, and Vanguard) covering domestic and international equities, fixed income, commodities, and a guaranteed stable value product. Go-to-market relies on association endorsements, direct employer relationships, and the participant-facing web portal. The trust also offers supplementary marketplace services such as ERISA fidelity bonds and life insurance proposal requests to participating employers and participants.

Name

National Employers Retirement Trust

Legal name

National Employers Retirement Trust

Website

https://nert.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1965

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

National Employers Retirement Trust (NERT), administered by Thomas F. Barrett, Inc. since 1965, is a multi-employer retirement plan trust providing plan administration, trust recordkeeping, and curated investment fund options to small and medium-sized firms, primarily acquired through professional association endorsements.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Retirement Plan Administration

NAICS

Pension Funds (525110), Insurance and Employee Benefit Funds (5251)

SIC

Insurance Agents, Brokers & Service (6411), Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Pensions & Retirement Benefits Administration (BPAIAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Employee Benefit & Retirement Plan Trust Services (FSAAANAC), Employer Retirement Plan Advisory (401(k)/Pension) (FSAEABAE), Pension Master Trusts, Superannuation & Provident Funds (FSAAAGAB)

Keywords

• Retirement plan administration
• Pension administration services
• 401(k) plan services
• Defined benefit plans
• Retirement benefits consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Bethesda

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Trust Management and Administration Fees: An expense factor of 0.00233% (0.85%/yr) is applied to the average daily balance of plan assets, except the guaranteed account, for trust recordkeeping. Sandy Spring Bank serves as Trustee providing group trust services including investing, distributing, allocating, and confirming plan assets and activities.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

National Employers Retirement Trust provides retirement plan administration and pension/benefits services to small-and-medium-sized employers, including plan design, compliance testing, recordkeeping, IRS reporting, and access to a curated menu of 11 mutual funds and pre-built model allocation portfolios. The trust is administered by Thomas F. Barrett, Inc. with Sandy Spring Bank as Trustee and Euclid Investment Advisory as investment adviser, generating revenue through an annual trust recordkeeping fee of 0.85% applied to average daily plan assets.

Product overview

National Employers Retirement Trust (NERT), administered by Thomas F. Barrett, Inc. since 1965, is a multi-employer retirement trust providing pension and benefits administration for small-and-medium-sized businesses. The offering consists of a core retirement plan administration platform supporting 401(k), 403(b), 457, defined benefit, defined contribution, profit sharing, money purchase, target benefit, Keogh, and SEP plans, paired with a curated selection of 11 investment funds from external managers (Artisan Partners, Dodge & Cox, Hennessy, MetLife, Pimco, T. Rowe Price, Wellington, Allspring, Vanguard) covering domestic and international equities, bonds, commodities, and guaranteed products. NERT also provides pre-built model allocation portfolios, association-specific retirement services for APA and D.C. Dental Society members, an online participant portal, and supplementary marketplace services including life insurance proposals and ERISA fidelity bonds.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Retirement Plan Administration Services Comprehensive pension and benefits administration including plan design, compliance testing, recordkeeping, and reporting for 401(k), 403(b), 457, defined benefit, profit sharing, and other qualified retirement plans. Targeted at small-and-medium-sized firms seeking outsourced administration with personalized service.
• NERT Model Allocations

Quantifiable outcome

• T. Rowe Price Growth Fund in NERT Model Allocation was up 13.8% for Q2 2023 and 32.2% in first half of 2023

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• Sandy Spring BankcoreOthersSandy Spring Bank serves as Trustee for the National Employers Retirement Trust, providing management of all group trust services including investing, distributing, allocating, and confirming of plan assets and activities.
• Euclid Investment AdvisorycoreTechnology or IntegrationEuclid Investment Advisory is NERT's investment adviser, monitoring the performance of each mutual fund manager of the NERT funds to ensure they meet NERT's investment policy goals.
• Acorn Financial Advisory Services, Inc.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAndrew Casteel, CIO, CFP of Acorn Financial Advisory Services, Inc. manages the NERT Model Allocations, providing diversified, risk-adjusted investment allocation strategies for participants.
• Vanguard Core Management GroupsupportingTechnology or IntegrationProvides S&P 500 Index Fund for NERT investment options, offering low-cost passive investing in diversified portfolio of common stocks.
• Artisan Partners Limited PartnershipsupportingTechnology or IntegrationProvides International Fund offering diversified exposure to international equity markets across capitalizations and regions.
• Dodge & CoxsupportingTechnology or IntegrationProvides Value Fund seeking long-term growth of principal and income through diversified common stock portfolio.
• T. Rowe PricesupportingTechnology or IntegrationProvides Growth Fund seeking long-term capital growth with secondary income objective, focusing on companies with above-average earnings growth.
• PIMCOsupportingTechnology or IntegrationProvides International Bonds Fund and Commodities Fund for NERT investment options.
• Wellington Management CompanysupportingTechnology or IntegrationProvides Balanced Fund seeking long-term capital appreciation and income through diversified allocation among stocks, bonds, and money market funds.
• AllspringsupportingTechnology or IntegrationProvides Corporate Bond Fund and Government Securities Fund for NERT investment options.
• Metropolitan Life Insurance Co.supportingTechnology or IntegrationProvides Guaranteed Fund (stable value fund) with guarantee of both principal and interest for participant-initiated withdrawals.
• HennessysupportingTechnology or IntegrationProvides Hennessy Focus Fund focusing exclusively on smaller public companies, moving between growth and value.
• APA Insurance TrustcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorEndorsed by the APA Insurance Trust to provide member retirement plan consulting services for practicing psychologists. NERT offers no plan document fees and waived IRS reporting fees for 3 years for APA members.
• District of Columbia Dental SocietycoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorEndorsed by The District of Columbia Dental Society to provide member retirement plan services including consulting and full-service administration.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Ascensus: One of the largest independent retirement and college savings services providers in the US—serving many of the same SMB and mid-market plan sponsor segments with broader capabilities.
• ADP Retirement Services: Major 401(k) recordkeeper bundled with ADP's dominant payroll platform—competing aggressively for the SMB employer market NERT serves, particularly where payroll integration matters.
• Paychex Retirement Services: Paychex's 401(k) recordkeeping arm targets the same small-business employer segment, often bundled with payroll—a structurally advantaged competitor NERT must displace.
• Fidelity Small Business Retirement: Fidelity's small-business retirement offering competes directly for SMB 401(k) plans with brand recognition and low-cost fund lineup—a broad incumbent in NERT's target market.
• Charles Schwab Retirement Plan Services: Schwab's retirement plan services group serves small-to-mid plans with bundled recordkeeping and a deep fund menu—a broad incumbent NERT competes against for mid-sized employers.

Direct peers

• Betterment for Business: Digital 401(k) provider offering low-cost automated retirement plans to SMBs with target-date portfolios—a direct competitor in the same underserved SMB market segment.
• Vestwell: Cloud-based retirement plan administration platform targeting small businesses and advisors with integrated recordkeeping and advisor-friendly tooling—competing head-to-head for SMB plan sponsors.
• ForUsAll: 401(k) provider focused on small and growing businesses with embedded financial wellness and crypto/investment options—targeting the same SMB employer base.
• Employee Fiduciary: Low-cost 401(k) plan administrator for small businesses, known for flat per-participant pricing—directly competing on price with NERT's AUM-based fee model.
• Guideline: Modern 401(k) platform purpose-built for small-and-medium-sized employers with full-stack digital onboarding and flat-fee pricing—directly competing for the same SMB retirement plan market NERT serves.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/barrett-thomas-f-inc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 National Employers Retirement Trust