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Private market investments could make an appearance in your 401(k) retirement plan soon, and a handful of asset managers are poised for a tailwind, according to Deutsche Bank. Earlier this week, The Wall Street Journal reported , citing people familiar with the matter, that the Trump administration is working on an executive order that would facilitate 401(k) plans’ access to private market investments. This order, the people told the Journal, would call on the Department of Labor and the Securities and Exchange Commission to offer guidance to plan administrators and employers on how to include these assets in retirement plans. Asset managers have already started making inroads into the space. For instance, Empower announced in May that it would provide exposure to private equity, private credit and private real estate through collective investment trusts – that is, pooled funds that are available to individual investors only through retirement plans. As details are revealed, some companies are better positioned than others. BlackRock’s finance chief Martin Small said on an earnings call that the firm anticipates launching a proprietary LifePath target-date fund that includes private assets in 2026. “We’re excited about that as a way of continuing to bring public-private whole portfolio investing to the retirement market,” Small said. Don’t expect employers to rush into private assets right away, though. “While the uptake is likely to be lengthy, we estimate the [defined contribution] opportunity represents an incremental $3.8bn-$12.3bn revenue pool opportunity for Managers of private markets strategies over the next several years,” Goldman Sachs analyst Alexander Blostein said in a Wednesday report. Large plan sponsors will be the slowest to adapt, as they contend with significant fiduciary scrutiny, said Deutsche Bank analyst Brian Bedell in a Wednesday note. Mid-tier plan sponsors and smaller firms will be more interested, he said. To that end, Bedell shared a few names that are ideally positioned as private assets become accessible to retirement plans. BlackRock The asset management giant is “best positioned” as it has a substantial presence in the retirement plan space – accounting for more than $1.7 trillion – along with more than $500 billion in target-date products, Bedell said. BlackRock has also made several recent acquisitions of alternative asset managers, including Global Infrastructure Partners and credit investment manager HPS Investment Partners . “Mgmt. believes they could begin to see traction in at least the small plan and/or advisor-sold, portion of the 401k market in the relatively near-term,” Bedell said. BlackRock shares are up nearly 8% in 2025, and the stock has a dividend yield of about 1.9%. The stock is well liked by Wall Street, with 16 out of 18 analysts rating it a buy and consensus price targets calling for 5% upside, per LSEG. Blackstone “We view BX as being the next best positioned given their very well recognized private markets brand name, along with the broadest array of investment strategies, totaling over $1.1 tr in [assets under management],” Bedell wrote. He added that Blackstone is focused on growing its retail product franchise, having recently entered a partnership with Wellington and target-date fund giant Vanguard to develop private and public market products for retail investors. The arrangement may also position Blackstone to enter the 401(k) channel, Bedell said. Shares of the asset manager are flat in 2025, and the stock has a dividend yield of roughly 2.4%. Analysts are split on Blackstone, however, with half of them rating it a hold, per LSEG. Consensus price targets call for about 5% downside. Apollo Global Management Management at Apollo is “well-advanced in targeting the 401K markets,” seeing private credit products as best suited for early entry into the space, Bedell said. He added that Apollo is “very well positioned,” citing its brand and total assets under management of $785 billion. The firm has also entered partnerships with retail managers to create public/private products: Earlier this year, Apollo paired up with State Street to roll out a private credit ETF. Analysts like the name, with 16 out of 21 rating it buy or strong buy, while consensus prices call for 4% upside. Shares are down more than 5% in 2025, and Apollo has a dividend yield of 1.3%. — CNBC’s Michael Bloom contributed reporting
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