What KTRADE does

KTRADE, legally North American KTRADE Alliance, LLC, is a retirement plan recordkeeping firm headquartered in Plymouth, Indiana, that operates an unbundled, open-architecture platform across 401(k), profit sharing, defined benefit, cash balance, ESOP, Davis-Bacon, MEP, and non-qualified plans. The platform is built on the FIS Relius industry-leading recordkeeping software with VeriSign-secured web access and integrates with five custodian/clearing partners (Charles Schwab Trust Company, Fidelity Investments, Mid Atlantic Trust Company, Matrix Financial Solutions, TD Ameritrade Trust Company). Services are delivered exclusively through a network of 15+ Alliance Member TPAs, each of which is a co-owner with board representation; this cooperative ownership structure is the central differentiator versus conventional recordkeepers and governs both referral flow and downstream compliance/administration. Daily-valuation recordkeeping, fiduciary investment monitoring software, a managed-account option using professional RIAs, a self-directed brokerage module, and an educational video and calculator suite (Employer Connect, Advisor Connect, Getting Started) round out the product surface.

Revenue is generated primarily through recurring recordkeeping fees on plan assets, supplemented by revenue-sharing flows from investment providers that are 100% credited back against professional fees under a transparency model that explicitly avoids unitized accounting. Pricing is quote-based, tied to plan size and complexity, on multi-year contracts; specific fee schedules are not publicly disclosed. Customer reach is distributed across 16,000+ retirement plans and 675,000+ participants with $26 billion in administered assets, accessed via the Alliance Member network rather than direct sales.

The corporate organization itself is deliberately small (11-50 employees) and lean — Brad R. Lankford serves as President and CEO while also leading founding Alliance Member Latitude Retirement; Trent Newcomb and Kevin Miller round out operations leadership — reflecting a model in which KTRADE provides the technology platform and the TPAs deliver local service. The company maintains CEFEX-Certified Recordkeeper status (since 2011), ASPPA Recordkeeping Services Certification, and a successful SOC 1 Type II Audit, signaling fiduciary-grade compliance posture aimed at employer and advisor buyers.

Name

KTRADE

Legal name

North American KTRADE Alliance, LLC

Website

https://ktradeonline.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1989

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

KTRADE is a US retirement-plan recordkeeping firm that operates an open-architecture platform on FIS Relius, delivering daily-valuation recordkeeping, managed accounts, and fiduciary tooling through a 15+ member network of co-owned Third Party Administrators serving 16,000+ plans and 675,000+ participants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Retirement Plan Recordkeeping

NAICS

Pharmacy Benefit Management and Other Third Party Administration of Insurance and Pension Funds (524292), Pension Funds (52511), Insurance and Employee Benefit Funds (5251)

SIC

Life Insurance (6311)

akta.pro primary industry

Self-Funded Employer Plan TPA (ASO Administration) (HLAEALAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Compliance, Reporting & Regulatory Administration (ERISA/ACA/No Surprises) (HLAEALAJ)

Keywords

• Retirement plan recordkeeping
• Plan administration services
• TPA alliance services
• 401k recordkeeping
• Retirement benefits administration

Headquarters

HQ city

Plymouth

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Recordkeeping Fees: KTRADE charges recordkeeping fees for managing retirement plan administration, contributions, distributions, and participant accounts. These fees are among the lowest in the industry.
2. Revenue Sharing: KTRADE receives revenue sharing from investment providers (mutual funds) but credits 100% of this revenue against professional fees, reducing costs to participants.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

KTRADE is a retirement plan recordkeeping firm that delivers third-party administration (TPA) services through a national network of Alliance Member TPAs. The firm provides recordkeeping, plan administration, web-based account access, managed account services, and self-directed brokerage accounts to retirement plan sponsors and the financial advisors who serve them.

Product overview

KTRADE is a recordkeeping firm offering a unified open-architecture platform for retirement plan administration. The core KTRADE Recordkeeping Platform manages daily trade execution, contributions, and distributions, powered by the FIS Relius system. The platform connects to multiple custodial partners (Charles Schwab, Fidelity, Mid Atlantic Trust, TD Ameritrade, Matrix) for trade clearing. Additional modules include managed account services with a network of professional RIAs, fiduciary investment monitoring software, self-directed brokerage accounts, and web-based account access portals available 24/7. Educational resources include financial planning calculators, video education series for participants (Getting Started Video Series), employers (Employer Connect Video Series), and advisors (Advisor Connect Video Series). Services are delivered through a national network of Alliance Member TPAs providing local plan administration.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• KTRADE Recordkeeping Platform
• Retirement Plan Administration
• Web-Based Account Access Portal
• Managed Account Services
• Self-Directed Brokerage Account

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

21 partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• FIS ReliuscoreTechnology or IntegrationFIS Relius is the industry-leading recordkeeping software platform used by KTRADE. FIS is a global leader in financial services software serving over 25,000 customers in more than 50 countries, processing over 30 million retirement accounts.
• VeriSigncoreTechnology or IntegrationVeriSign software secures the KTRADE Retirement Account Access Portal. Trusted by the world's 40 largest banks for encryption and data protection.
• Charles Schwab Trust CompanycoreTechnology or IntegrationOne of five industry-leading custodians that clear trades and provide custodial services for KTRADE plans.
• Fidelity InvestmentscoreTechnology or IntegrationOne of five industry-leading custodians that clear trades and provide custodial services for KTRADE plans.
• Mid Atlantic Trust CompanycoreTechnology or IntegrationOne of five industry-leading custodians that clear trades and provide custodial services for KTRADE plans.
• Matrix Financial SolutionscoreTechnology or IntegrationOne of five industry-leading custodians that clear trades and provide custodial services for KTRADE plans.
• TD Ameritrade Trust CompanycoreTechnology or IntegrationOne of five industry-leading custodians that clear trades and provide custodial services for KTRADE plans.
• Bates and Company, Inc.coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAlliance Member TPA with offices in Winter Park, Jacksonville, and Clearwater, Florida. Provides local pension administration services.
• Benefit Plans Inc.coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAlliance Member TPA located in Omaha, Nebraska. Provides local pension administration services.
• Delaware Valley Retirement Inc.coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAlliance Member TPA located in Ridley Park, Pennsylvania. Provides local pension administration services.
• DeMars Pension Consulting Services Inc.coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAlliance Member TPA located in Overland Park, Kansas. Provides local pension administration services.
• Latitude RetirementcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAlliance Member TPA with offices in Indiana, Ohio, South Carolina, Arizona, and California. Founding firm of KTRADE (originally Niles Lankford Group).
• National Benefit ServicescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAlliance Member TPA with offices in California (Poway), Texas (Plano), and Utah (West Jordan). Provides local pension administration services.
• Nexus Administrators, Inc.coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAlliance Member TPA located in Fresno, California. Provides local pension administration services.
• PACO, Inc.coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAlliance Member TPA located in West Des Moines, Iowa. Provides local pension administration services.
• Pension Planning Consultants, Inc.coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAlliance Member TPA located in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Provides local pension administration services.
• Preferred Pension Planning CorporationcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAlliance Member TPA located in Bridgewater, New Jersey. Provides local pension administration services.
• Retirement Solutions AdvisorscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAlliance Member TPA located in Chicago, Illinois. Provides local pension administration services.
• SI GROUP Certified Pension ConsultantscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAlliance Member TPA located in Honolulu, Hawaii. Provides local pension administration services.
• SuperiorUSA BenefitscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAlliance Member TPA with offices in Minnesota (Duluth, Minnetonka) and Iowa (Davenport). Provides local pension administration services.
• TPS GroupcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAlliance Member TPA operating as The Pension Service, Inc. with offices in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, and Maine. Provides local pension administration services.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Fidelity Workplace Investing: Manages retirement plans for tens of thousands of employers with extensive proprietary and open-architecture funds plus integrated advisory. Competes with KTRADE in the larger end of the mid-market.
• Empower Retirement: The second-largest U.S. retirement plan recordkeeper (including acquired Prudential and Newport businesses), serving 70,000+ plans with $1.5T+ AUM. Competes head-on with KTRADE for mid-market plans at broader scale and product depth.
• Principal Financial Group: Principal's retirement segment provides recordkeeping, plan administration, and asset management for defined contribution and defined benefit plans. Overlaps KTRADE's mid-market retirement plan services at much greater scale.
• Capital Group / American Funds: American Funds offers retirement plan recordkeeping with an open-architecture model and revenue-sharing credits similar to KTRADE's approach. Competes on the open-architecture / mid-market employer value proposition.
• Schwab Retirement Plan Services: Charles Schwab's retirement plan services serve thousands of employer plans with recordkeeping and custodial services (Schwab is also one of KTRADE's five custodial partners). Competes head-to-head for mid-market plans.
• ADP Retirement Services: Provides bundled recordkeeping for small and mid-sized plans via payroll integration. Competes with KTRADE in the lower-mid market, particularly among employers already on ADP's payroll/HR platform.
• Vanguard Retirement Plan Services: Vanguard offers low-cost retirement plan recordkeeping to employers with low participant minimums. Competes with KTRADE on cost leadership and scale in the mid-market retirement plan segment.

Emerging players

• Guideline: 401(k) recordkeeping platform designed for small businesses with transparent flat-fee pricing. Competes for smaller plans that today may route through KTRADE's TPA channel, scaling upward from below.
• Vestwell: Tech-forward recordkeeping and administration platform targeting small and mid-sized employer retirement plans. Targets the same advisor- and TPA-served market segments KTRADE operates in, often with a more modern SaaS delivery model.

Direct peers

• Ascensus: Largest independent retirement and college savings TPA in the U.S., serving employers of all sizes with recordkeeping, administration, and compliance services. Most directly comparable to KTRADE's mid-market, TPA-channeled retirement recordkeeping model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance5 records

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 KTRADE