DC Participants Open to Private Markets—and AI—with Guardrails: Invesco Survey
Eighty percent of defined contribution plan participants say they’d be comfortable with a managed service investing a portion (10-20%) of their retirement balances in private market alternative investments, and more than half (53%) regularly or occasionally use AI-powered tools for personal financial planning or investment decisions.
Those are among the key findings in Invesco’s Winter 2026 Defined Contribution Participant Pulse Survey, released today, which explores retirement savers’ views on alternative investments and artificial intelligence based on insights gathered from more than 500 large-plan participants.
The survey found DC participants prioritize diversification and growth over cost concerns in private market investments. Forty percent say private market investments should be part of a long-term retirement portfolio because they add diversification and growth. Another 52% say these alternatives can play a role, depending on risk and cost factors.
Additionally, 36% “definitely” want private markets investments to be included in their employer-sponsored plan while an additional 50% say they’re open to the idea, depending on the risks and fees. That’s a combined 86% of participants saying they were “definitely interested” or “maybe, depending on risks and fees” in having private market investments included in their DC plan.
“This level of interest is encouraging for plan sponsors who are considering adding private investments into their DC plan,” wrote Pulse Survey report author Greg Jenkins, Managing Director, DC Solutions at Invesco.
Over half (51%) say they’d do so as part of personalized, diversified portfolios and 24% would seek target date funds.
More participants are “very” or “somewhat” comfortable with tangible assets such as property (85%), commercial real estate (80%), and infrastructure (78%) than private equity (76%) and private credit (53%).
AI: Adoption with oversight
When it comes to artificial intelligence (AI), participants generally welcome its use in retirement planning but maintain a strong desire for human intervention.
“While participants see value in AI, concerns remain about privacy and overreliance on technology, and most believe AI should complement, not replace, human advisors,” Jenkins wrote in the survey report.
The survey found more retirement savers trust AI (55%) to help manage their investments than family members (45%). Further, 53% regularly or occasionally use AI-powered tools for personal financial planning or investment decisions. Among Millennials, that rises to 71%.
While only 25% of plan participants surveyed said they “fully” trust AI to select investments for them, 58% said they would do so if human review was involved.
The full research report can be downloaded at this link: https://www.invesco.com/us/en/insights/exploring-participant-views-on-AI-and-private-markets.html#form.
SEE ALSO:
• Private Markets and 401(k)s: Invesco’s Greg Jenkins on What Comes Next
• Higher Returns, More Active Management Add Complexity to Private Investments in DC Plans
• Why 401(k)s Can’t be ‘One-Size-Fits-All’ Anymore
Veteran financial services industry journalist Brian Anderson joined 401(k) Specialist as Managing Editor in January 2019. He has led editorial content for a variety of well-known properties including Insurance Forums, Life Insurance Selling, National Underwriter Life & Health, and Senior Market Advisor. He has always maintained a focus on providing readers with timely, useful information intended to help them build their business.