Ardian has partnered with Legal & General to provide private equity exposure to 5.6m UK defined contribution members through Legal & General’s Private Markets Access Fund.

The initiative marks a further step in expanding private markets access within UK DC schemes, as pension providers seek diversification and long-term value creation opportunities for retail savers.

Under the partnership, Ardian’s Co-Investment platform will construct a diversified portfolio of private companies across sponsors, sectors, geographies, and company sizes. The co-investment team, led by Alexandre Motte and Patrick Kocsi, reviews hundreds of opportunities each year and invests alongside leading private equity sponsors globally.

Legal & General said Ardian strengthens the fund’s manager line-up as it builds out its private markets allocation within a DC-appropriate framework. The mandate provides exposure to Ardian’s global pipeline of co-investment opportunities across the buyout market.

“Ardian is an exciting addition to PMAF’s manager line‑up, helping us to provide DC savers with diversified access to Private Equity, said Martin Dietz, Head of Diversified Strategies at L&G Asset Management. “This is an important step as we build‑out PMAF’s private market portfolio using experienced and specialist managers and highlights how we want to continue to evolve within our DC‑appropriate framework.”

The first private equity investment through the partnership has already been completed.

The agreement underscores growing momentum behind integrating private equity strategies into defined contribution pension structures, as asset managers refine vehicles designed to meet liquidity, governance, and risk constraints specific to the UK DC market.

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