ACEC Retirement Trust

What ACEC Retirement Trust does

ACEC Retirement Trust is a nonprofit ERISA-governed collective trust founded in 1973 and structured exclusively for engineering firms that are members of the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC). Its core offering is a 401(k) retirement plan program that delivers fiduciary protection, institutional-grade investment options, and recordkeeping services to ACEC member firms and their affiliates. The trust is not open to the general market; participation is gated entirely by ACEC membership, and governance is provided by a Board of Trustees composed of principals from participating member engineering firms.

The trust operates as an orchestration layer over three premier service providers: CAPTRUST serves as the 3(38) Investment Manager responsible for selecting and overseeing plan investment options, Empower provides the recordkeeping platform and participant-facing services (including complimentary Certified Financial Planning, a digital financial planning dashboard, and eLearning seminars), and McDermott Will & Schulte serves as ERISA legal counsel for compliance, fiduciary training, and regulatory updates. Additional product modules include the Blueprint Income Solutions retirement income marketplace, which provides participants access to annuity products for converting accumulated savings into guaranteed lifetime income. None of the underlying technology is proprietary to the trust — the platform architecture is a third-party-provided stack centered on Empower's recordkeeping system.

The business model is fee-based and subscription-like: the trust collects administrative fees from participating member firms for retirement plan administration, fiduciary services, and access to negotiated investment options. The collective structure is the core economic mechanism — by aggregating demand across ACEC members, the trust secures institutional pricing from top-tier providers that individual mid-market engineering firms could not obtain independently. Go-to-market is conducted through the ACEC membership network via direct client engagement (handled by a small team including Client Engagement staff and the Executive Director), quarterly Plan Sponsor webinars, member referrals, and a "Benchmark My Plan" lead capture form on the website. Pricing is not publicly disclosed; the trust emphasizes all-inclusive fees, lower expenses than standalone plans, and competitive institutional pricing negotiated at the collective level.

Name

ACEC Retirement Trust

Legal name

ACEC Retirement Trust

Website

https://acecrt.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1973

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

Nonprofit collective trust founded in 1973, exclusively providing 401(k) retirement plans, fiduciary protection, and financial wellness services to ACEC member engineering firms via partners CAPTRUST, Empower, and McDermott Will & Schulte.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Retirement Plan Administration

NAICS

Pension Funds (525110)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

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

akta.pro secondary industries

Employee Benefit & Retirement Plan Trust Services (FSAAANAC), Corporate Retirement Plan Advisory RIAs (ERISA 401(k)/403(b)) (FSAAACAF), Retirement Plan Participant Advice & Managed Accounts (FSAEABAF)

Keywords

• Retirement plan trust
• Defined contribution plans
• Retirement plan administration
• Engineering firm benefits
• Multiple employer plan

Headquarters

HQ city

Roswell

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Retirement plan administration fees: As a nonprofit collective trust for ACEC member firms, the trust generates revenue through fees charged to participating member firms for retirement plan administration, fiduciary services, and access to negotiated investment options. The collective structure enables institutional pricing and cost savings passed along to members.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

ACEC Retirement Trust is a private retirement plan trust established in 1973 that provides retirement plan administration, investment management, and fiduciary services exclusively to member firms of the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC). The trust operates as a pooled retirement plan, leveraging third-party service providers — Empower for recordkeeping, CAPTRUST for investment management, and McDermott Will & Schulte for legal counsel — to deliver retirement benefits tailored to engineering firms.

Product overview

ACEC Retirement Trust is a single, unified retirement plan program designed exclusively for ACEC member engineering firms. The program integrates four key service providers: CAPTRUST (3(38) Investment Manager providing fiduciary oversight and investment selection), Empower (recordkeeping platform handling participant accounts, education, and advisory services), and McDermott Will & Schulte (ERISA legal counsel). The offering combines the core retirement plan with Certified Financial Planning Services, Blueprint Income Solutions (retirement income marketplace for annuity products), a Digital Financial Planning Dashboard, and Learning at Your Leisure eLearning seminars. Members benefit from pooled buying power, reduced fiduciary liability, and access to investment options typically unavailable to individual firms.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• ACEC Retirement Trust Program A pooled retirement plan program for ACEC member engineering firms, providing recordkeeping (via Empower), investment management (via CAPTRUST), and legal/fiduciary services (via McDermott Will & Schulte). Designed to help engineering firms offer competitive retirement benefits while reducing administrative burden and fiduciary risk.

Quantifiable outcome

• 78% of employees express general interest in financial planning
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• CAPTRUSTcoreTechnology or IntegrationCAPTRUST serves as the 3(38) Investment Manager for the trust. As the nation's largest independent Registered Investment Advisor (RIA), CAPTRUST is responsible for analyzing and selecting the trust's investment options, delivering comprehensive investment reports, and providing economic market reviews and outlooks.
• EmpowercoreTechnology or IntegrationEmpower is the top recordkeeper in the United States and supplies the plan's recordkeeping platform. They manage all aspects of recordkeeping, provide education for participants and plan sponsors, and offer personalized investment advice and Certified Financial Planning to each participant at no additional cost.
• McDermott Will & SchultecoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerRecognized as a leading ERISA law firm, McDermott Will & Schulte serves as the legal consultant for the ACEC Retirement Trust. They provide legal oversight for ERISA compliance, deliver fiduciary training for Trustees and plan sponsors, and keep the trust informed of legislative and regulatory updates.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Vestwell: Emerging Pooled Employer Plan (PEP) provider offering modern recordkeeping, fiduciary services, and white-labeled retirement solutions to associations, small businesses, and financial advisors. Represents a more technology-forward threat to legacy association-MEP models like ACEC's.
• OneAmerica Retirement Services: Provider of retirement plan solutions including pooled employer plans and association-endorsed programs for professional groups, with emphasis on mid-market employer clients. Comparable business model and target member profile.

Direct peers

• ABA Members Retirement Program: Association-endorsed retirement program exclusively for American Bar Association members, structured similarly to ACEC Retirement Trust as a pooled/collective plan with negotiated institutional pricing and fiduciary protection. Closest analog in professional-association MEP/collective trust model.
• AICPA Member Insurance & Retirement Programs: Endorsed retirement and insurance programs exclusively for AICPA members, providing access to group-rate retirement plans for accounting firms of all sizes. Operates on the same association-endorsed collective purchasing model as ACEC Retirement Trust.
• Pentegra Retirement Services: Provider of retirement plan solutions to associations, financial institutions, and their employer members, with a long-standing association-collective trust model. Offers pooled 401(k) structures and acts as a fiduciary/3(38) manager, directly comparable to ACEC's CAPTRUST/Empower-led structure.

Broad incumbents

• Empower Retirement: ACEC's core recordkeeper and the largest US recordkeeper, serving both association-affiliated and direct corporate 401(k) plans. A partner to ACEC but also a broad incumbent competing for similar employer relationships outside the ACEC network.
• Fidelity Workplace Investing: Among the largest US 401(k) recordkeepers and a major institutional retirement plan provider. Competes directly with ACEC's offering for engineering firm clients through scale pricing and broad investment menus.
• CAPTRUST: ACEC's 3(38) Investment Manager and the largest independent RIA in the US, serving corporate, association, and high-net-worth retirement plans. Partner to ACEC Retirement Trust but operates broadly across similar pooled/collective plan structures for other associations.
• Vanguard Retirement Plan Services: One of the largest US retirement plan recordkeepers and investment managers, offering low-cost institutional 401(k) plans to employers of all sizes. Competes with association-endorsed plans by offering scale economics and low-cost fund lineups similar to what ACEC provides.

Others

• McDermott Will & Schulte: Leading ERISA law firm serving as legal counsel to ACEC Retirement Trust. Adjacent enabler rather than competitor, but operates extensively with other retirement plans and associations, providing similar fiduciary/ERISA services.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/acecrt
• Xx.com/ACECRTEmployee
• Facebookfacebook.com/ACECRT

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 ACEC Retirement Trust