American investment company BlackRock has announced a minority investment in California-based 401(k) provider Human Interest.

Both companies are expected to join forces to increase access to retirement plans to small and medium-sized firms across the US.

Besides, the US-based investment firm is leading a financing round to help the next stage of Human Interest’s growth.

Through its 401(k) full-services, Human Interest aims to make it easy for small and medium-sized enterprises to support their employees in saving for retirement.

Established in 2015, the company is said to support employees in all fields of work to access retirement benefits and provide a path to financial independence.

Human Interest stated that it has raised nearly $500m in funding to date.

Human Interest CEO Jeff Schneble said: “BlackRock has an amazing team focused on providing high-quality retirement saving and investment options. We are excited to work with BlackRock to find ways to bring retirement within reach of millions of additional workers in the coming years.”

With BlackRock’s investment, Human Interest is anticipated to continue enhancing the capabilities of its technological platform and maturing its operational procedures and infrastructure.

Besides, the association with BlackRock is anticipated to help Human Interest leverage the former’s experience and expertise to help fulfil its important mission.

Since the initial closing of its last announced financing in 2021, Human Interest is said to have witnessed more than 400% growth in the number of customers and revenue.

BlackRock retirement group head Anne Ackerley said: “Getting people on a path to a secure retirement is core to BlackRock’s purpose, from pioneering target-date funds 30 years ago to managing retirement assets for more than 40 million Americans today. We look forward to helping Human Interest close the access gap.”

In October 2022, BlackRock Alternatives raised $4.5bn in initial investor commitments in the first closing of the BlackRock Global Infrastructure Fund IV (Infra IV).