Guideline Raises $200M in Funding Led by General Atlantic to Fuel Growth of Comprehensive Retirement Plan Solutions

Guideline to leverage new capital to expand digital platform and products to more small- and medium-sized businesses and employees

SAN MATEO, Calif.--()--Guideline, a leading provider of easy, affordable retirement plan solutions for small-and-medium-sized businesses (SMBs), today announced it has raised $200M in new funding led by General Atlantic, a leading global growth equity firm. Existing investors Generation Investment Management, Greyhound Capital, Felicis Ventures, Propel Ventures and others also participated. Guideline plans to use the funds to further scale its offering of full-service 401(k) plans, as well as introduce new retirement plan solution products.

Founded in 2015 by CEO, Kevin Busque, CPO, Jeremy Caballero, and CTO, Mike Nelson, Guideline's mission is to help everyone arrive at a safe, secure retirement, whether they are a small business owner, an employee or are self-employed. Guideline offers a full suite of support, spanning plan administration and employee onboarding, to compliance testing, government filing and recordkeeping. By leveraging fully-integrated technology to eliminate the barriers that often make retirement plans cost prohibitive for many SMBs and by automating processes within the 401(k) lifecycle for clients, Guideline is able to remove complicated and excessive hidden fees and prioritize participant savings.

Guideline is built on a differentiated and automated tech platform that offers a broad menu of self-service options for both employers and employees, which drives satisfaction among customers. To date, over 20,000 companies representing hundreds of thousands of participants have entrusted Guideline with managing their retirement plans, totaling more than $4.5 Billion in AUM. In addition to its offering of traditional 401(k) plans, Guideline supports self-employed individuals through Simplified Employee Pension Plan (SEP) IRAs. Guideline's platform ultimately helps to remove complexity and doubt from retirement planning, instead helping instill knowledge and clarity so people can invest in their financial future with confidence.

Kevin Busque, Co-founder and CEO of Guideline, said, “We founded Guideline with the mission to better serve small business owners and their employees by transforming access to retirement savings plans. We are proud of our significant growth over the past six years as we have worked to modernize a legacy component of the U.S. economic system and ensure retirement planning is accessible to all. We are excited to draw upon General Atlantic’s deep expertise at the intersection of technology and financial services as we continue to empower businesses and their employees to plan for the future.”

“Guideline is uniquely positioned as a modern, digital-first solution for small and mid-size employers who have been traditionally underserved by legacy providers. The Guideline team deeply understands the needs of its client base, offering a holistic platform that allows employers to seamlessly provide retirement benefits and enables employees to begin building retirement savings,” continued Aaron Goldman, Managing Director and Global Co-Head of Financial Services at General Atlantic. “We admire Guideline’s transparent approach and believe the business is poised to expand as it scales its platform and offerings. We look forward to partnering with Kevin and the Guideline team in this new phase of the business’ growth.”

As part of the transaction, Aaron Goldman will join the Guideline board of directors. Additional terms of the deal were not disclosed.

About Guideline
Guideline is the easy, affordable retirement platform trusted by more than 20,000 small businesses. With a platform that takes complexity and doubt out of retirement planning and replaces it with knowledge and clarity, Guideline empowers people to invest in their financial future with confidence. Since its launch in 2016, Guideline's assets under management have soared to more than $4.5 billion. The company has raised $344 million in venture capital from investors including General Atlantic, Generation Investment Management, Greyhound Capital, Felicis Ventures, Propel Ventures, and others. Named one of the World's Most Innovative Companies by Fast Company, Guideline was founded in 2015 by Kevin Busque, Jeremy Caballero, and Mike Nelson. The company is based in San Mateo, CA.

About General Atlantic
General Atlantic is a leading global growth equity firm providing capital and strategic support for growth companies. Established in 1980, General Atlantic combines a collaborative global approach, sector specific expertise, a long-term investment horizon and a deep understanding of growth drivers to partner with great entrepreneurs and management teams to build exceptional businesses worldwide. General Atlantic has more than 175 investment professionals based in New York, Amsterdam, Beijing, Greenwich, Hong Kong, Jakarta, London, Mexico City, Mumbai, Munich, Palo Alto, São Paulo, Shanghai, and Singapore. For more information on General Atlantic, please visit the website: www.generalatlantic.com

Contacts

Guideline
Johnny Brackett
johnny@guideline.com

General Atlantic
Mary Armstrong & Emily Japlon
media@generalatlantic.com

Contacts

Guideline
Johnny Brackett
johnny@guideline.com

General Atlantic
Mary Armstrong & Emily Japlon
media@generalatlantic.com