DENVER, Nov. 8, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Lincoln Trust Company, a leading provider of open architecture 401(k), profit sharing and self-directed IRA solutions, today announced that it has completed the acquisition of Fringe Benefit Administrators, LTD (FBA), a third-party retirement plan administrator based in Metairie, Louisiana.

The combined companies will have a significant presence in the small plan marketplace, focusing on providing businesses and retirement plan advisors with better and more comprehensive plan administration, plan design and consulting services. Lincoln Trust will service more than 2,300 qualified plan clients and will administer more than $9.5 billion in assets.

Lincoln Trust’s acquisition of FBA is highly complementary to its existing business and brings several new plan types to Lincoln Trust’s offerings, including 403(b), 457(f), cash balance, defined benefit, ESOP, non-qualified, money purchase and target benefit plans. FBA also shares Lincoln Trust’s philosophy of open architecture and fee transparency and adds a strong presence in the southeastern United States.

“We are thrilled to purchase a firm with such an outstanding reputation in the business,” said Lincoln Trust Chairman & CEO Bob Beriault. “We want to ensure that any acquisition we do is the right fit. From its servicing of open architecture 401(k) plans through fee-based advisors to its embracing of fee transparency, FBA is a fantastic partner to bring into the Lincoln Trust family.”

A good business and cultural fit was also important to FBA, according to Dick Watson, President and CEO of Fringe Benefit Administrators. “We are excited to be part of an entity like Lincoln Trust that is committed to long-term excellence in the 401(k) space,” he said. “They were great to work with during this transaction and a great partner in all aspects of the deal. We look forward to expanding our sales efforts by leveraging Lincoln Trust’s marketing to fee-based advisors.”

Lincoln Trust was part of Fiserv, Inc., a Fortune 500 firm, prior to Beriault and his management team buying the firm in 2009. Lincoln Trust is known for its experience in doing acquisitions as part of a growth strategy, one that looks to continuously add management and customers in order to offer the best products and services in the retirement industry.

Lincoln Trust is continuing to look for acquisition opportunities to fuel growth. “We want to increase our national presence by acquiring independent recordkeeping firms with a solid track record of growth and client retention,” said Mr. Beriault. “Where there is a cultural fit, we are anxious to supplement our growing organic sales with targeted acquisitions to continue to expand our reach serving the small plan market.”

Lincoln Trust recently introduced the Personalized Expense Ratio (PER), one of the retirement industry’s most precise all-in 401(k) plan cost calculations. Available exclusively on the Lincoln Trust 401(k) platform, PER is intended for participants, plan sponsors and advisors to see the actual cost of their plans without having to perform calculations themselves. The new Lincoln Trust enhancement was designed to go beyond the U.S. Department of Labor’s recent revisions to 408(b)(2) and 404(a)(5) reporting requirements. Neither regulation calls for the calculation and display of a plan’s or a participant’s total plan cost.

Denver-based Lincoln Trust ranks among the nation’s largest independent providers of trust and custodial services. A member of the Council of Independent 401(k) Plan Recordkeepers, the firm has received numerous awards for their technology around Business Process Management from such prestigious companies as Gartner, IBM and other leading technology organizations.

About Lincoln Trust Company

Located in Denver, Lincoln Trust provides trust, custodial, recordkeeping and administration services to open architecture 401(k) plans and other defined contribution plans. By providing access to 24,000 mutual funds and 900+ ETFs without any proprietary product requirements and by using all revenue sharing payments to offset plan expenses, Lincoln Trust is able to offer low cost 401(k) plan solutions to advisors and plan sponsors in the small and mid-size plan markets. Lincoln Trust is also a leading independent provider of self-directed IRAs. For more information, visit www.LincolnTrustCo.com or call 1-855-719-5796

About Fringe Benefit Administrators, Ltd

Fringe Benefit Administrators, Ltd (FBA), formed in 1972, is an independent, full-service retirement benefit firm providing companies and advisors with “one-stop” assistance for retirement plan administration, plan design and consulting services. FBA’s professional staff has in excess of 100 years of combined experience in the designing and administration of qualified plans. For more information, visit www.fbanet.com.

SOURCE Lincoln Trust Company