With Proper Guidance, Survey Finds Plan Sponsors Ready to Add Private Investments
According to a new survey released today by Empower, nearly all workplace retirement plan sponsors (96%) say they would likely add private market investments if fiduciary and regulatory guidance were clarified.
“Employers are ready to take the next step in modernizing retirement plans by including private markets, provided the policy environment is clear.”
Empower’s Edmund Murphy
“Employers are ready to take the next step in modernizing retirement plans by including private markets, provided the policy environment is clear,” said Edmund F. Murphy III, President and CEO of Empower. “This aligns directly with what participants and advisors have already told us — the appetite is there, and we believe private markets can play a meaningful role in retirement outcomes.”
Admittedly, the survey is from a recordkeeper that has previously expressed strong support for adding private market investments to defined contribution (DC) plans, and in May 2025 announced a program paving the way for this to happen by aligning with top-tier asset managers to deliver diversified pools of private equity, private credit, and private real estate through collective investment trusts (CITs).
In July, Empower released results from research showing that more than seven in 10 American workers want access to private assets in their retirement plans.
The new “Private Market Investments: Plan Sponsors Provide Perspective” survey was conducted online by The Harris Poll, on behalf of Empower, among 205 private sector 401(k)/403(b) benefits administrators in the U.S., Aug. 21-28, 2025.
In addition to 96% saying they would likely add private market investments if fiduciary and regulatory guidance were clarified, the new survey of plan sponsors found:
• 98% say they have a high to moderate understanding of private market investments.
• 54% anticipate participants would be enthusiastic about having such access.
• 43% have already received inquiries from participants about such access.
• 72% are actively discussing the opportunity with advisors and consultants.
The new Empower findings comes on the heels of recent independent research that further reinforces the case for private markets in DC plans. A new white paper from Cerulli Associates and the Defined Contribution Alternatives Association (DCALTA) highlights that:
• Stakeholders across the DC ecosystem are developing product and education strategies to meet participant needs with private market solutions.
• Private market strategies should be embedded within professionally managed investment options (not offered as standalone choices).
• Collective investment trusts (CITs) are likely to become the de facto structure for providing access.
• The industry is already addressing key operational hurdles, including liquidity, fiduciary considerations, and participant communication, by building frameworks that align private markets with public market investment processes.
The paper also emphasizes the importance of “myth busting,” noting that professionally managed allocations can responsibly provide participants with access to assets when needed—similar to how other institutional and international retirement systems already operate successfully.
SEC working with DOL on guidance
Earlier this week, Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Paul Atkins said that in light of President Trump’s Aug. 7 executive order, the SEC will work with the Department of Labor to put protections in place to ensure retirement investors gain safe access to alternatives while guarding against bad outcomes.
Atkins stressed in an interview with Fox Business that average people need to be diversified, and that private investments shouldn’t be limited to only the wealthiest and the big pension funds. This is a message that Empower, the country’s second-largest recordkeeper, has embraced and shared repeatedly since its big May announcement.
“Empower is making a profound move on behalf of American retirement investors, who should have the ability to invest in an asset class that has the potential to diversify their portfolios and offer opportunities for returns in new ways. These new opportunities offered under an advice model deliver the guardrails necessary to help an entirely new investor class access private investing,” Murphy said.
“With trillions already invested in private markets and a wide range of U.S. companies privately held, it’s time to expand access responsibly in retirement plans,” Murphy added. “Participants want it, advisors are ready to guide it, and now employers are preparing to deliver it. That’s a powerful signal of where the retirement system is heading.”
Read the full report here: Private Market Investments: Plan Sponsors Provide Perspective.
SEE ALSO:
• SEC Working with DOL to Develop ‘Guardrails’ for Private Equity in 401(k)s
• Empower Offering Private Investments in DC Plans
• 401(k) Participants Want In-Plan Access to Private Assets: Empower
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.
