Empower’s push into personal wealth advisement has been gaining traction, with the division reporting 29% growth in average assets under administration to $86 billion in 2024 in part from “capturing rollover volume from defined contribution plans.”

Empower, the country’s second-largest retirement plan recordkeeper by assets, has built up a staff of 1,000 advisors in recent years to provide wealth management services to individuals, including the 19 million people on its recordkeeping platform, representing about $1.8 trillion in assets.

Related: Roger Hobby Named Executive Vice President For Empower Personal Wealth

“At the center of Empower’s growth strategy is the delivery of financial advice to more people in new ways,” Empower CEO Edmund Murphy said in a statement. “We achieved four strong quarters of growth in 2024 because our customers, their advisors and the partners with whom we work are bringing much-needed advice to the millions of people we serve.”

Empower, owned by Winnipeg-based Great-West Lifeco, embarked on its wealth strategy with a 2020 $1 billion acquisition of Personal Capital.

In 2023, it announced the Empower Personal Wealth brand, headed by Carol Waddell. Waddell had previously been a managing director at J.P. Morgan, overseeing retirement plan services. Her division’s launch included a national marketing effort aimed at consumers.

Roger Hobby, a former Fidelity Investments executive, was named vice president and head of advisory and distribution for the division last year.

Great-West Lifeco President and CEO Paul Mahon said on an earnings call that Empower Personal Wealth brought in over $3 billion in net new assets in the fourth quarter, with rollover sales playing a significant role.

“A thriving workplace business fuels the growth of our personal wealth offering,” he said. “For the full year, net flows alone accounted for 12% asset growth in the personal wealth business, demonstrating the growing strength of the platform.”

Empower’s workplace platform reported adding 600,000 net new plan participants in 2024, increasing 3.4% year-over-year and AUA growth of 22% year-over-year.

It also, however, saw net outflows of $13.8 billion from its defined contribution assets over the course of the year as people withdrew from their retirement accounts. CEO Mahon called the withdrawals a “trend that remains consistent across the industry at this time.”

Empower as a division achieved record earnings of $973 million in 2024, up 30% from the prior year.

Great-West Lifeco, listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, reported adjusted earnings per share of $1.14 during the quarter, up 12% year-over-year, beating analysts’ expectations by 6 cents, according to Yahoo!Finance.