Smart enters into agreement to acquire Stadion Money Management

The deal is the latest transaction as part of an aggressive M&A strategy for Smart, announced in Q4, 2021. The announcement follows Smart’s recent £165 million Series D funding round.

Smart, the London-headquartered retirement technology platform provider that powers the Smart Pension Master Trust, with nearly 1 million members, along with partnerships globally, has announced its acquisition and merger of Stadion Money Management (“Stadion”). The US based firm offers personalised digital retirement solutions to advisers, employers and members. The acquisition marks the latest in a series of strategic transactions by Smart that have helped the company realise a 2,000% AUM growth over 3 years, and is scheduled to close during Q1 2022. The terms of the deal are not disclosed. Stadion will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Smart.

Stadion’s managed account knowledge and technology will bolster Smart’s transformative suite of retirement technology comprising personalisation across accumulation and decumulation. This complements Smart’s award-winning Platform-as-a-Service offering, across the Smart Pension Master Trust, and through partnerships with financial services organisations globally. Through Stadion, Smart will gain 40 talented professionals, which takes the overall global business to around 700 colleagues, the majority of whom will be based in the company’s recently announced 6-floor London HQ.

“This acquisition marks a pivotal moment for Smart, and is also an important moment in combining the best tech, talent, and resources from around the globe to create a single platform that can transform DC savings in the UK and beyond,” said Andrew Evans and Will Wynne, Group CEO, Group MD and Co-Founders of Smart. “It further reinforces our strategic direction to accelerate growth through M&A that we announced in Q4, 2021. We are excited to bring aboard the full Stadion team, who are united in our vision to transform the retirement marketplace. We have no doubt that our people-first and tech-forward cultures align well.”
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Jamie Fiveash, CEO of Smart UK, commented:

"We are thrilled our M&A strategy, led by Paul Toon who joined recently from Legal & General Investment Management, is providing excellent results so quickly. We are focused on deals that closely align with our strategy and we will continue to execute M&A as a tool to deliver on our targets. We are looking at several opportunities closer to home to bring members and assets onto our technology platform, building scale and further accelerating our technology capability to transform retirement products and services for clients and customers in the UK.

Smart has ambitions to further its growth globally, accelerating still further in its home UK market, and will seek to align with additional like-minded strategic partners who share a vision for transforming retirement savings.

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