Access to Private Markets Offers New Opportunities to Millions of Retirement Savers
Washington, DC; June 1, 2026—Today, the Investment Company Institute (ICI) submitted its comment letter in response to the Department of Labor’s (DOL) proposed rule on fiduciary duties in selecting designated investment alternatives. ICI President and CEO Eric J. Pan issued the following statement:
“ICI applauds the DOL for this significant step to expand 401(k) investors’ ability to diversify their portfolios. As investment opportunities continue to expand rapidly in the private markets, 401(k) investors should have the ability to include private market investments in their long-term investment portfolios. A partial allocation as part of a well-diversified retirement portfolio has the potential to improve investment outcomes, and plan fiduciaries should be able to offer this choice.
“ICI’s research indicates that modest private market allocations can enhance diversification and improve expected risk-adjusted returns. These estimated benefits persist even after adjusting for the tendency of private market valuations to move more gradually. In addition, our simulation results suggest better estimated outcomes for retirement savers when modest private market allocations are included in target date funds. These analyses highlight the material importance of the proposal for 401(k) participants.”
Private Market Assets Can Provide Diversification Benefits and Expand the Opportunity Set
Annualized expected return and volatility, percent
Source: Investment Company Institute calculations of Preqin (a part of BlackRock) and Refinitiv data
“To ensure that the rule achieves its intended goals without relaxing existing fiduciary duties, the safe harbor framework establishes appropriate guardrails to facilitate the broader incorporation of private assets into 401(k) plans. We look forward to working with the Labor Department to help advance this effort.”
Read the full comment letter here.
Read ICI’s economic analysis of the DOL’s proposal here.