By David Wignall

Investors and regulators alike are abuzz with the prospect of allowing private assets into the $12 trillion retirement savings market. The President of the United States is on board. So are the CEOs of private-equity giants like Apollo Global Management, KKR, and Blackstone. But a question remains: Are retirees even interested?

A new study suggests that many of them are. According to the Schroders 2025 U.S. Retirement Survey, 45% of investors participating in 401(k), 403(b), or 457 savings plans say they would invest in private equity and private debt if their plan provided access. That's up from 36% in 2024.

The survey results come in the wake of an Aug. 7 executive order that seeks to open up Americans' retirement plans to private-equity funds, cryptocurrencies, and other alternative assets. Five days later, the White House Council of Economic Advisers issued a report that said retirement investors "would benefit from diversification, higher risk-adjusted returns, and higher retirement income."

The general public's knowledge of alternative assets remains limited, Schroders writes. Just 12% of surveyed retirement plan participants said they were "very knowledgeable" about private assets, and 40% said they were "somewhat knowledgeable."

"To date, access to private markets in the U.S. has been restricted to institutions and ultrahigh net worth investors, so there hasn't been a reason for most investors to gain a better understanding of the asset class," says Deb Boyden, head of U.S. defined contribution at Schroders.

Among the investors planning to invest in private equity and private debt, 6% said they would allocate more than 15% of their retirement savings to private assets. More than a third (36%) said they would invest 10% to 15% in private assets, and half (51)% said they would invest less than 10% in private assets.

More than half of investors in retirement accounts (53%) said private assets sound risky, according to Schroders.

To conduct the study, researchers interviewed 1,500 U.S. investors ages 29 to 79, including 602 currently participating in a workplace retirement plan. The survey was held from March 25 to April 17.

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August 25, 2025 09:07 ET (13:07 GMT)

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