Catering to broker-dealers, investment advisors and registered investment advisors, the Retirement Plan Network will provide access to independent record-keepers and hold investors’ assets in custody, while also offering investment products, retirement plan tools and practice management solutions.

The platform launch comes at a time when the retirement plan market continues to swell, with $6.6 trillion held in defined contribution plans as of the third quarter of 2014 - a figure that is expected to grow 5 to 6 per cent year-on-year until 2019.

“The growth of DC plans and IRAs make the retirement market an attractive space for advisors and presents them with an opportunity to help meet plan sponsors’ need for better guidance in preparing their plan participants for retirement. In our conversations with clients, we recognized their desire for assistance with their retirement plan business, so we developed the Retirement Plan Network in response,” said Pershing’s head of retirement solutions, Rob Cirrotti.

Pershing added that its new network will offer clients a “conflict-free custody solution” to help increase transparency in the retirement business.

Investment choices available on the network include mutual funds, stable value funds and exchange-traded funds through managed models, via its open-architecture platform which gives access to third-party asset managers.