401(k) Real Talk Episode 197: June 17, 2026
Welcome to this week’s edition of 401(k) Real Talk, where Fred Barstein, contributing editor for Wealth Management’s RPA channel, reviews all of last week’s industry news and selects the five most important/interesting stories.
Worth Reading:
Read the full raw transcript below:
Greetings & a warm welcome to this week’s edition of 401k Real Talk. This is Fred Barstein contributing editor at WealthManagement’s RPA omnichannel and CEO at TRAU, TPSU & 401kTV – I review all of this week’s stories and select the most important and interesting ones providing open honest and candid discussion you will not get anyway else. So let’s get real!
FIRST STORY
The resilient and booming RIA M&A market is expected to top $4 tr within a decade according to Cerulli research driven mostly by the 26,000 RIAs projected to retire in that period. The aging advisors tend to have larger businesses than break-away firms.
In addition, 54% of RIAs are in acquisition mode with hybrids most active. Unrelated, Hightower’s PE owner Thomas Lee has officially put the $364 bn firm on the market with EFE signaling renewed interest in acquiring both RIAs and RPAs while RPA aggregators continue their buying spree of wealth advisors.
Next story:
Wd private market investments pass SEC mutual fund scrutiny and is that even relevant? It’s a question that Chris Tobe poses comparing these investments to the failed synthetic stable value funds rejected by the SEC over 20 years ago.
So while the DC industry is abuzz with the expected entry of more private investments likely within a TDF CIT not under the SEC purview and the DOL final rule expected out soon, plan fiduciaries may need to conduct additional due diligence.
Issues with alts cited by Tobe include:
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Softened liquidity assumptions
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Manipulative benchmarking
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Weaker regulatory oversight
NEXT STORY
Fidelity with $770bn in their Freedom Funds TD announced the launch of their Freedom Lifetime CIT series expected early out early 2027 in partnership with Nationwide and NY Life which will include passive and active funds with a built in guaranteed income option.
The offering will include education, tools, access to one-on-one consultation and will be fully integrated into Fidelity’ RK platform which raises the question of whether it will be transferable.
As the drumbeat but not adoption for imbedded guaranteed income within DC plans continues, it will likely be led by leading RK and TDF providers like Fidelity, Capital Group, Vanguard and TIAA.
FINALLY
As the defined contribution industry begins in earnest to serve participants driven in part by the need of both advisors and record keepers to seek addition revenue, it puts parties that collaborate to sell and service the plan in conflict. Though there is no right answer for all providers and advisory groups, it seems like the middle path or partnership will not only work better for most, but it should result in better outcomes.
Read my recent WealthManagement.com/RPA column bout how record keepers and advisors can partner and at least co-exist.
FINISH
So those were the most important stories from the past week. I listed a few others I thought were worth reading covering:
Edelman Financial Engines CEO bullish on alts
How to create great retirement committees
Creative Planning CEO dismisses questions about a possible IPO
How large plans are designing plans to meet real life issues
Please let me know if I missed anything or if you would like to comment. Otherwise I look forward to speaking to you next week on 401k Real Talk.