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Empower, the second-largest U.S. retirement plan provider, added alternative asset manager giant Blackstone to its private markets investment partnership program. The move comes amid a push by the Trump administration to expand private market access to defined contribution plans.
Blackstone, which has a line-up of private equity, private credit, real estate and infrastructure products aimed at individual investors, launched a business unit dedicated to working with DC plan sponsors in October of last year.
Empower launched its private markets investment partnership program in May 2025, providing investments in private equity, private credit and private real estate through collective investment trusts. The initial launch included partnerships with Apollo Global Management, the Partner Group, Goldman Sachs, Franklin Templeton, Neuberger Berman, PIMCO, Sagard and North Leaf. The private market investments available through the program are accessed through managed accounts rather than the general 401(k) investment menus.
“Our goal is to bring the power of private markets investing—delivered through advice and risk-appropriate structures—to millions of Americans who previously lacked access,” Empower CEO and President Edmund F. Murphy III said in a statement. “Our private market investing platform is built by the world’s best asset managers. Blackstone’s involvement significantly bolsters the opportunities available to retirement savers.”
Heather von Zuben, global head of retirement solutions at Blackstone, said in a statement: “Opening private markets to a broader universe of individual investors is an important evolution in how Americans can benefit from enhanced returns and diversification as they look to build wealth for the future. By partnering with Empower, we’re enabling participants to access Blackstone’s proven track record of more than 20 years of bringing private markets investing to individuals, as part of a diversified retirement portfolio.”
A recent report from research firm Cerulli Associates found that DC plan sponsors are exhibiting high levels of interest in adding private market investment options to retirement plans. A survey of almost 1,000 retirement plan sponsors found 37% had a high level of interest in learning about the pros and cons of incorporating private market options into their plans. By 2030, 7% of plan sponsors may have a private markets allocation through a target-date fund or a managed account.
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