Earlier this month, President Trump signed an executive order that could pave the way for the use of private equity (PE) in retirement savings accounts. While private equity isn’t technically prohibited in retirement plans, the associated risks have traditionally given fiduciaries pause. The change could potentially impact the more than 90 million Americans who participate in employer-sponsored defined contribution plans.
In private equity, investors target privately held companies, as opposed to publicly held companies. Unlike investing in a public company, investing in a private company typically involves fewer regulations but requires more capital. Finally, the finances of private companies might be less transparent and harder to interpret.
The Executive Order doesn’t change the rules for retirement plans. It does, however, seek to change the “regulatory burdens and litigation risk” that may currently stand in the way of investing in alternative assets inside retirement plans. Under the Order, alternative assets include private equity, real estate (including real estate debt), digital assets (such as cryptocurrency), commodities, projects financing infrastructure development (including public-private partnerships), and longevity risk-sharing pools. The Department of Labor and the Securities and Exchange Commission are expected to issue related guidance in early 2026.
How Do Americans Use Their Retirement Accounts?
For many workers, retirement accounts represent most of their liquid savings. At the end of 2024, according to the Investment Company Institute, Americans held $15.2 trillion in individual retirement accounts (IRAs) and another $12.4 trillion in workplace defined contribution plans such as 401(k) 403(b) and 457 plans.
The incentive to sock money inside retirement accounts instead of, say, a plain vanilla brokerage account is generally tied to tax breaks. Depending on the kind of retirement account, the tax benefits can be immediate, deferred, or both.
Here’s a quick primer: With a traditional IRA, you make potentially tax-deductible contributions. Any earnings, including interest and gains, aren’t taxed until you withdraw from the account once you retire. If you opt for a Roth IRA, contributions are not tax-deductible and are funded with after-tax dollars, but the payoff is that future withdrawals are tax-free.
Your employer may offer a defined contribution plan like a 401(k), 403(b), governmental 457 plans, and the federal government’s Thrift Savings Plan. With an employer-sponsored retirement account, you can kick in a portion of your paycheck toward retirement savings (typically, pre-tax contributions) and your employer may offer a matching contribution. There may also be a Roth option for these accounts—as with a Roth IRA, with a Roth 401(k) or similar plan, in exchange for paying taxes upfront, the contributions and earnings can be withdrawn tax-free in retirement.
From a tax standpoint, the benefit of traditional (non-Roth) retirement accounts are generally two-fold: earnings don’t count towards your current year income—which reduces your potential tax bill—and it grows tax-deferred. When you reach retirement age, withdrawals are taxable as you take the money out—certain exceptions may apply.
Barriers To Private Equity In Retirement Accounts
Since so many Americans depend on retirement accounts, there are safeguards in place to protect the underlying assets. Those safeguards include a slew of regulations intended to protect taxpayers. Some investors, however, argue that those protections, which are intended to reduce risk, have limited their options.
It’s not only volatility and risk that have kept private equity out of retirement accounts. Mark R. Parthemer, Chief Wealth Strategist at Glenmede, says that PE “has faced a number of headwinds when it comes to inclusion in retirement accounts.” That includes affordability. PE funds typically charge much more than mutual funds or index funds, with a common fee structure of “2 and 20”—around 2% of assets under management plus 20% of profits above a set threshold. By contrast, mutual funds in retirement accounts often charge about 1%, while index funds may charge just 0.2% or less.
Another obstacle has been illiquidity. Parthemer stresses that, unlike public investments, PE commitments can lock up money for years, with little or no secondary market to exit early. For retirement savers, that lack of flexibility is a major drawback, especially when funds may be needed due to retirement, job changes, or emergencies.
And, as the Executive Order highlights, the litigation risk for plan sponsors remains a concern. Parthemer explains that although employers offering retirement plans are not responsible for investment performance, they do have a fiduciary duty to carefully select and oversee investment options. Lawsuits over plan investment choices are common, which has made many sponsors hesitant to include PE (and other alternative investments, such as Bitcoin).
Reasons For The Existing Rules—And How They Might Change
Parthemer explains that today, most private equity, hedge funds, and venture capital vehicles rely on exemptions under the Securities Act of 1933 and the Investment Company Act of 1940. These exemptions generally limit participation to Accredited Investors (AIs) or Qualified Purchasers (QPs). That means that most 401(k) or IRA investors don’t qualify, which has effectively walled off alternative assets from the retirement marketplace.
The rules exist to ensure that investors have sufficient financial sophistication or resources to bear the higher risks associated with these investments. Changing those rules could take several forms, including possibly recognizing sophistication through factors other than wealth, like professional experience, financial literacy certifications, and employer-sponsored plan safeguards.
That means, Parthemer explains, by early 2026, changes could result in plan fiduciaries, not individual investors, bearing the qualification burden. Additionally, retirement savers might gain access to institutional-style diversification without needing a minimum threshold of $5 million in investable assets.
How Would PE Work Inside Of A Retirement Plan?
One of the concerns about incorporating alternative assets like PE is whether investors are savvy enough to make a good decision. Parthemer stresses that “private equity in a retirement plan is not about an individual picking a PE deal.” Instead, he says that it involves gaining indirect access to PE through a professionally managed, diversified vehicle designed to fit within the rules of retirement accounts. That means balancing return potential with liquidity and fiduciary protections.
PE operates very differently, and incorporating it into a retirement plan requires some adjustments. For example, Parthemer says that PE in retirement plans is usually offered through a fund-of-funds or a collective investment trust. This allows plan participants to gain exposure to private equity while having professional managers handle the complex process of fund selection and administration.
In institutional PE investing, Parthemer explains, investors typically make a long-term capital commitment, and the PE manager “calls” the money over time as opportunities arise. In retirement plans, this process is simplified by having participants’ contributions invested in a pooled vehicle, which handles capital calls and distributions internally. This approach shields individual investors from administrative burdens.
Because PE investments can lock up funds for years, retirement plan vehicles must include mechanisms for liquidity. Parthemer says this may involve keeping a cash reserve, using credit lines, or combining PE with liquid assets so participants can still access their money when changing jobs or taking distributions.
Finally, Parthemer says, plan sponsors must carefully vet any PE option to ensure it is appropriate, cost-effective, and monitored over time. That should include safeguards for retirement investors.
Concerns About PE In Retirement Accounts
Not everyone is a fan.
Shortly after Empower, the nation’s second-largest retirement plan provider, announced plans to open private market investing to its 19 million plan participants, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ranking Member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, sent a letter to Ed Murphy, Empower’s President and CEO, about her concerns. Warren raised questions about the “sector’s weak investor protections, its lack of transparency, expensive management fees, and unsubstantiated claims of high returns.”
In a second letter addressed to Murphy, Warren wrote, “Studies suggest that private market investments have consistently underperformed as compared to publicly traded indices. Despite these underwhelming results, private funds often charge up to 20 times as much in fees as mutual funds. At the same time, private funds have weak transparency, liquidity, and compliance requirements and lack investor protections.”
In his response, Murphy cited research conducted by Empower in June 2025 that he says indicates that “Americans want more diversified tools to build long-term wealth in a market environment where the number of public investing opportunities has declined.” Empower’s research found that 73% of those surveyed believe that including professionally managed private investments in retirement plans levels the playing field for everyday investors, while 79% believe retail investors should have access to the same investment products as institutions.
Murphy also noted in his response that, “Private markets investing is not for everyone and Empower is not suggesting that it is.” He wrote that the company is “not advocating for unregulated or unmanaged access to complex asset classes,” but rather “proposing a carefully constructed, multi-layered framework rooted in fiduciary accountability and participant protection.”
Who Is An Ideal Candidate For PE In Retirement Plans?
So, who would be an ideal candidate? Murphy told Forbes that “We believe it’s important for 401(k) investors to have access to private markets broadly — but understand it’s not for everyone.” He notes that there is not a pre-set or pre-determined investor to whom these strategies would be targeted, but rather, “[t]he more important consideration is the investor’s advisor relationship and how a potential private investment comports with the rest of the investor’s portfolio, their goals, and their broader financial picture.”
What Are The Advantages Of PE Inside A Retirement Plan?
Murphy notes that the introduction of 401(k) plans “helped with democratizing access to public markets decades ago,” and he sees the same opportunity for private markets today.
“The market has evolved,” he says, “and there are simply more mid-size equity investment opportunities in the private market today, allowing for greater investment opportunities within an asset class that has performed very well over the last three decades.”
Noting that investing in private markets has long been limited to accredited investors, Murphy says, “Having the ability to invest in private markets will unlock unprecedented investment opportunities for individuals and give Americans the opportunity for greater portfolio diversification and the potential to maximize their retirement savings.”
Next Steps For PE In Retirement Plans
It’s important to understand that any change won’t happen overnight. As government agencies, employers, retirement plan providers, and investors consider what alternative assets could mean for retirement plans, there’s still work to do. This is a new area for retail investors, and Murphy warns that “it’s important that private markets are not offered as a stand-alone investment choice in the retirement plan for self-directed investors.”
Understanding that this might not be a choice for everyone, what does it mean for interested investors? Murphy suggests that the kind of advice that applies across the board for investments also works here—it’s important to work with a financial professional to determine what makes sense for you.
Read the full article here
