JERSEY CITY, N.J., Nov. 11, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Pershing LLC, a BNY Mellon company, today announced it has added Voya^™ Investment Management's Tomorrow's Scholar^® 529 plan to its 529 plans platform on NetX360^® to provide advisors with more choices in college savings plans for their clients. Voya Investment Management (formerly ING U.S. Investment Management) is the third major 529 college savings plan provider available on Pershing's no-fee college savings platform.

"We are pleased to welcome Voya Investment Management and the Tomorrow's Scholar plan to Pershing's growing 529 solutions," said Rich Calvario, vice president of financial solutions at Pershing. "In addition to expanding our roster of 529 plan providers, we're particularly excited to see the steady growth of the platform in ways that facilitate RIAs and broker-dealers joining us directly. We expect to see this expansion continue as we build out the program."

Pershing was the first clearing firm to provide brokerage platform integration for 529 college savings plans, enabling advisors to open, fund and manage 529 college savings plan in much the same way that they manage most other investments for their clients. Voya Investment Management's Tomorrow's Scholar 529 plan joins John Hancock's Freedom 529 Plan and American Funds' CollegeAmerica^® plan on Pershing's no-fee college savings program.

The 529 college savings plans available on Pershing's brokerage platform give financial organizations and investment professionals a streamlined approach to providing their clients with 529 college savings strategies, as well as access to additional assets under management and introductions to new investors. It also opens the door to the growing, yet underserved, market for college funding strategies and broadens the portfolio of services that advisors and firms can make available to their clients.

"We were an early adopter during the launch of this program and have been impressed with the efficiency and steady success of Pershing's 529 college savings plans in the advisor-sold channel," said Glenda Schmidt, president and founder of Schmidt Financial Group, a high-net-worth, independent RIA with offices in Kirkland, WA and Palo Alto, CA, that specializes in "tech-wealth" investors.  "This significantly supported our decision to transition our custodial relationships to the Pershing platform late last year," added Schmidt.

For firms with clients already holding 529 college savings plans directly with state programs or mutual fund companies, Pershing's program gives them the opportunity to consolidate assets under management.

"The nature of financial services today is more dynamic and complex than ever," said Samir Murty, managing director and principal of Orgel Wealth Management, LLC, in Altoona, WI, which serves individual investors, trusts, foundations, retirement plans, and corporations. "Our decision to join the Pershing 529 platform was aided by our experience using Pershing as our custodian. Converting to the Pershing 529 platform and bringing over our clients was a seamless process at every step."

To learn more about Pershing's 529 plans platform, visit http://www.pershing.com/broker_dealer/investment_solutions/529-College-Savings-Plans.html.

About Pershing
Pershing and its affiliates provide global financial business solutions to approximately 1,600 financial organizations, broker-dealers, registered investment advisory firms, advisors, fund managers and asset managers who represent over 5.6 million active accounts. Located in 23 offices worldwide, Pershing delivers dependable operational support, robust trading services, flexible technology, an expansive array of investment solutions, practice management support and service excellence. Pershing affiliates are members of every major U.S. securities exchange, and its international affiliates are members of the Deutsche Börse, Australian Stock Exchange, Irish Stock Exchange, London Stock Exchange and Toronto Stock Exchange. Pershing LLC (member FINRA/NYSE/SIPC) is a BNY Mellon company. Additional information is available on pershing.com, or follow us on Twitter @Pershing.

About BNY Mellon
BNY Mellon is a global investments company dedicated to helping its clients manage and service their financial assets throughout the investment lifecycle. Whether providing financial services for institutions, corporations or individual investors, BNY Mellon delivers informed investment management and investment services in 35 countries and more than 100 markets. As of Sept. 30, 2014, BNY Mellon had $28.3 trillion in assets under custody and/or administration, and $1.6 trillion in assets under management. BNY Mellon can act as a single point of contact for clients looking to create, trade, hold, manage, service, distribute or restructure investments. BNY Mellon is the corporate brand of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (NYSE: BK). www.bnymellon.com, or follow us on Twitter @BNYMellon

CONTACT:
Paul Patella
+1 201 413 3609
paul.patella@pershing.com

SOURCE BNY Mellon