Empower has partnered with Blackstone to expand private markets access across US defined contribution retirement plans.

Under the partnership, Blackstone will join Empower’s private markets investment programme, which allows plan sponsors to incorporate exposure to private equity, private credit, infrastructure, and real estate through collective investment trust structures. The allocations are delivered via advice-based managed accounts and tailored to participants’ risk tolerance, time horizon, and long-term financial goals.

Empower said the initiative is designed to give retirement savers access to diversification and long-term return potential associated with private markets, while maintaining liquidity management and fee efficiency within defined contribution plans.

“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,” said Edmund F. Murphy III, president and chief executive of Empower. “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.”

Blackstone, which manages more than $1.2tn in assets, has been active in offering private markets strategies to individual investors since 2002 and has a dedicated retirement solutions business. The firm said the partnership reflects growing demand to integrate alternative assets into workplace savings vehicles.

“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,” said Jon Gray, president and chief operating officer of Blackstone.

Empower administers about $2tn in assets for more than 19 million investors, making it one of the largest retirement services providers in the US. The addition of Blackstone further expands the platform’s roster of alternative asset managers as private equity firms increasingly target long-term retirement capital amid slowing institutional fundraising.

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