Empower announced Blackstone has joined its private markets investment partnership program, expanding the menu of private market strategies the retirement-services provider can offer to defined contribution plan participants through collective investment trusts.
Empower said the initiative is designed to help DC plans incorporate exposure to private equity, private credit, private infrastructure and private real estate within CIT structures, with access delivered through an advice-based managed account. Under the model, employers can add private market CITs to the plan lineup, provided the plan works with an advisor to deliver the solution via a managed-account platform.
Blackstone, which said it manages more than $1.2 trillion in assets, has positioned the partnership as part of its broader push to bring private markets into workplace-savings vehicles. Empower said Blackstone has offered private markets solutions to individual investors since 2002 and maintains a dedicated retirement solutions business focused on expanding access through employer-sponsored plans.
Empower CEO Edmund F. Murphy III said the company’s private markets platform is built with global asset managers and that adding Blackstone increases the range of opportunities available to retirement savers who historically have had limited access to private assets.
The companies also emphasized diversification and long-term return potential, while noting the structure is intended to address liquidity management and fee considerations typical of retirement-plan investment lineups.
Empower said it administers about $2 trillion in assets for more than 19 million investors across retirement plans, advice, wealth management and investments, citing industry rankings that place it among the largest U.S. retirement-services providers by participant count.
KEY QUOTES:
“Our goal is to bring the power of private market investing — delivered through advice and risk-appropriate structures — to millions of Americans who previously lacked access. 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.” “Millions of working Americans deserve the same opportunity to diversify their retirement savings beyond public markets. By adding an industry leader like Blackstone, we are further modernizing the retirement system and helping more people prepare for the future.”
Edmund F. Murphy III, President and CEO, Empower
“Partnering with Empower reflects our shared belief that private markets can play an important role in helping more Americans plan for the future and build long-term financial security. Bringing Blackstone’s leading investment strategies into defined contribution plans enables retirement savers to access the same opportunities previously only available to institutional investors.”
Jon Gray, President and COO, Blackstone
“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.”
Heather von Zuben, Global Head of Retirement Solutions, Blackstone
