AI Held-Away Account Management Agent

A Held-Away Account Management Agent manages the 401(k)s, 403(b)s, and other outside accounts an adviser advises on but does not custody: it watches allocations, prepares trades within each plan, and keeps a compliant record. It does the work; the adviser approves each change.

Tecla builds and operates it in your environment, through compliant plan access rather than shared credentials, under the controls your firm already answers to.

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The shift underway

Held-away retirement accounts are the biggest blind spot in most financial plans, and the tools that reach them are under fresh regulatory scrutiny. The numbers show the size of the opportunity and the compliance stakes.

$7T

in 401(k) assets sits outside adviser management, much of it unmanaged at the household level.

Source: Pontera market analysis

30–60%

of a client's net worth often sits in held-away accounts, the most common planning blind spot.

Source:

RIA operations research, 2026

74%

of advisers have adopted account aggregation, among the highest of any advisor technology.

Source: Kitces Research

How it works

How the agent works

Managing outside retirement accounts means working within each plan's fund menu and access rules, for many clients at once. That work is repetitive and easy to let slip, so the agent runs it continuously and holds every trade for the adviser.

01

Plan Access

Connects to each held-away plan through compliant, permissioned access rather than stored client credentials, so the firm avoids the custody and cybersecurity exposure regulators are flagging.

Reaches the accounts
02

Allocation Watch

Tracks each outside account against its target model and flags drift, just as it would for the accounts you custody, so held-away assets are managed rather than merely viewed.

Finds the drift
03

Fund Mapping

Maps each target allocation to the specific funds available inside that plan's menu, since a 401(k) rarely offers the same options as a brokerage account.

Fits the plan menu
04

Trade Builder

Prepares the rebalancing trades within the plan's constraints, ready for the adviser to review and approve before anything executes.

Builds the action
05

Audit Record

Logs every action, who approved it, and when, so the firm holds an examination-ready trail for assets it manages but does not custody.

Keeps the record

Human in the loop

The agent prepares every rebalance and holds it, so a person approves each trade before it reaches a client's plan. Nothing executes in an outside account without that sign-off, which keeps the firm on the right side of the access and custody rules.

Scoped to you

This is a typical held-away build. The exact parts are scoped to how your firm runs: which plan providers your clients use, how your compliance team wants access documented, and where held-away fits your billing and reporting.

See what this would look like built around your portfolio operation.
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Related agents

How it reaches production

Built, run, and owned, one phase at a time

A held-away tool that demos well can still expose a firm the moment it touches a real plan the wrong way. A scoped brief, a named team, and someone accountable at each stage are what make this one safe to run in production.

Sprint

Scope, fixed price

We map the plan providers in scope, how compliant access is established, and the approval gates, then return a plan and a price before you commit.

AI Solutions Lead
Build

Built into your environment

Senior engineers build the agent inside your environment, integrated with your CRM, planning, and compliance systems, using permissioned plan access rather than shared credentials.

AI Systems Lead
Run

Monitored and improved

The agent adapts as plan menus and rules change, and we report against the metrics set at scope: held-away accounts under management, drift caught, held-away AUM brought under advice.

Systems Lead + Engineers
Own

Yours, improving

The system is yours to keep, and it stays compliant as access rules evolve rather than exposing the firm the way a credential-sharing tool can.

Your team

It starts with a fixed-price Tecla Sprint that scopes and prices the build before you commit.

‍ Book a scoping call
How it holds up

Reliable enough to manage real retirement money

With a client's retirement savings and a firm's registration on the line, an agent that acts on its own is a liability. What makes this one safe to run is the structure around it: how it accesses plans, what a person approves, and the record it leaves.

Reviewed by trajectory

Access without the custody risk

The agent reaches plans through permissioned access rather than storing client logins, so the firm avoids the cybersecurity and custody exposure that credential-sharing tools create.

Human in the loop

No trade without a sign-off

The agent prepares rebalances but executes nothing on its own. A person approves every trade before it reaches a client's outside account.

Tuned over time

Ready for the exam

Every action is logged with its approval, so when an examiner asks how held-away assets are managed, the firm has a complete, timestamped answer.

Start the build

Bring held-away accounts under real management

A scoping call maps your held-away opportunity and returns what the agent would manage, how success gets measured, and what the fixed-price Sprint to build it costs.

Talk to us

Fixed-price AI Systems Sprint. No commitment until scope is confirmed.

What advisers ask about held-away

What is an AI held-away account management agent?

It manages the held-away accounts an adviser advises on but does not custody, the 401(k)s, 403(b)s, and other outside plans. Tecla builds and operates it inside your environment: it tracks each account against its target model, maps allocations to the plan's fund menu, prepares rebalancing trades, and keeps a compliant record, with the adviser approving every trade.

How does it access accounts without client login credentials?

It reaches plans through compliant, permissioned access rather than storing or sharing client logins. This is the central design choice in held-away management, because credential-sharing tools have drawn regulatory scrutiny and create custody and cybersecurity exposure. Tecla builds and operates the agent under your firm's own controls.

How is this different from a data aggregation tool?

Aggregation shows you the account; this manages it. It not only reads the held-away balances but prepares and, once the adviser approves, places the rebalancing trades within the plan's constraints. It turns seeing outside assets into actively advising on them.

Does the agent trade on its own?

No. It prepares every rebalance and holds it for approval. Nothing executes in a client's outside account without that sign-off, which keeps the firm aligned with the access and custody rules. The agent does the work; the adviser keeps the decision.

What does Tecla's held-away build cover?

Tecla scopes the build to your firm: which plan providers your clients use, how compliant access is established, how compliance wants actions documented, and how held-away fits your billing and reporting. It runs inside your environment and Tecla operates it.

How does it handle compliance and custody risk?

By design: permissioned access rather than credential sharing, every action logged with its approval, and nothing executed without a human sign-off. The result is an examination-ready trail for the outside assets your firm manages but does not custody, which is exactly where regulators are focused.

Can it help us bill on held-away assets?

Yes. These accounts can be brought under advice and, where your firm bills on them, into your fee schedule, using the audit trail the agent maintains. The build scopes how held-away management flows into your existing billing.

How long does a build take?

It starts with a fixed-price Tecla Sprint that scopes and prices the build before you commit. The Sprint maps the plan providers, the access model, and the approval gates, so the agent that follows fits how your firm actually manages outside accounts.

We already have an operations team. Where does the agent fit?

It takes the repetitive tracking and trade preparation off the team, so their time goes to client relationships and judgment. Tecla builds and operates it alongside them, keeping it current as plan rules and access regulations change.

How do we get started?

A scoping call maps your held-away opportunity and returns what the agent would manage, how success is measured, and the fixed-price Sprint cost. Book a scoping call with Tecla to start.

Have any questions?
Schedule a call to discuss in more detail.
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