A new survey reveals that a majority of retirement savers are eager to gain exposure to private assets.
<a Private assets are moving into the mainstream as regulators and asset managers work to remove the barriers that have traditionally limited access to institutional <a Deb Boyden, Schroders' head of US defined contribution, told Yahoo Finance.
Driving the eager demand
Roughly 4 in 10 plan participants anticipate that private assets will be available within their retirement plans over the next five years, and they are looking forward to that development.
More than three-quarters of workplace retirement plan investors believe these assets will provide better returns and improved diversification compared to traditional stocks and bonds.
But are they fully aware of the risks? A growing number of retirement investors claim they are. Nearly one-quarter of plan participants now describe themselves as very knowledgeable regarding private assets, which is almost double the 12% who reported the same in 2025.
“Someone can say they are knowledgeable about private assets, but I would still want to know what they actually understand,” said Cary Carbonaro, a certified <a Women and Wealth."
“Do they understand the liquidity restrictions? The fees? The valuation process? The risk? The time horizon? Do they understand that diversification does not automatically mean lower risk?”
What’s behind the push
The Trump administration is fully committed to this shift. Following President Trump’s 2025 executive order, the Department of Labor and the Securities and Exchange Commission proposed a rule that would make it easier for 401(k) plans to incorporate alternative assets, such as private market investments, real estate, and cryptocurrency.
