Key Takeaways
- • Empower announced a partnership with Blackstone on January 14, 2026, to expand private markets investment access within its defined contribution retirement plan platform, enabling workplace savers to access institutional-quality alternative investments previously unavailable to retail participants.
- • Blackstone, the world's largest alternative asset manager with $1.2 trillion in assets under management, will provide access to private equity, private credit, private infrastructure, and private real estate through collective investment trust (CIT) structures integrated into Empower's retirement solutions.
- • The partnership extends Blackstone's 20+ year track record in individual investor private markets solutions to millions of American retirement savers, democratizing access to strategies historically reserved for institutional investors and high-net-worth individuals.
- • Empower's private markets platform now includes a roster of nine leading alternative asset managers—Apollo, Blackstone, Franklin Templeton, Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Neuberger Berman, Northleaf, Partners Group, PIMCO, and Sagard—creating a diversified menu of private markets strategies for workplace retirement plans.
- • The initiative aligns with broader industry trends toward democratizing alternative investments, allowing defined contribution plan participants to build exposure to private markets alongside traditional equity and fixed-income allocations within their retirement accounts.
Summary
Empower, a leading retirement and wealth management solutions provider, announced on January 14, 2026, that Blackstone has joined its private markets investment partnership program. The collaboration aims to expand retirement-plan participants' access to alternative investments by incorporating private equity, private credit, private infrastructure, and private real estate exposure via collective investment trust structures—investment vehicles that pool assets from multiple participants to achieve institutional-scale exposure.
Blackstone, the world's largest alternative asset manager managing over $1.2 trillion in assets, brings substantial credibility and scale to the initiative. The firm has operated a dedicated business unit focused on retirement solutions and maintains a two-decade track record of providing private markets access to individual investors since 2002. This established expertise positions Blackstone as a significant addition to Empower's platform, which aims to democratize opportunities historically available only to institutional investors and ultra-high-net-worth individuals.
Edmund F. Murphy III, president and CEO of Empower, articulated the strategic vision behind the partnership: "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." This positioning reflects a broader shift within the retirement services industry toward incorporating alternatives into workplace savings vehicles, enabling participants to pursue potentially higher returns and diversification benefits.
Empower's private markets platform now encompasses nine leading alternative asset managers, including Apollo, Franklin Templeton, Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Neuberger Berman, Northleaf, Partners Group, PIMCO, and Sagard alongside Blackstone. This diversified roster provides plan sponsors and participants with a broad menu of private markets strategies, potentially addressing different risk tolerances and investment objectives within defined contribution plans.
The partnership represents a material development in the retirement services industry, potentially influencing how workplace retirement plans structure alternatives access and positioning Empower and Blackstone as central players in extending institutional-quality private markets strategies to millions of American workers.
Blackstone, the world's largest alternative asset manager managing over $1.2 trillion in assets, brings substantial credibility and scale to the initiative. The firm has operated a dedicated business unit focused on retirement solutions and maintains a two-decade track record of providing private markets access to individual investors since 2002. This established expertise positions Blackstone as a significant addition to Empower's platform, which aims to democratize opportunities historically available only to institutional investors and ultra-high-net-worth individuals.
Edmund F. Murphy III, president and CEO of Empower, articulated the strategic vision behind the partnership: "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." This positioning reflects a broader shift within the retirement services industry toward incorporating alternatives into workplace savings vehicles, enabling participants to pursue potentially higher returns and diversification benefits.
Empower's private markets platform now encompasses nine leading alternative asset managers, including Apollo, Franklin Templeton, Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Neuberger Berman, Northleaf, Partners Group, PIMCO, and Sagard alongside Blackstone. This diversified roster provides plan sponsors and participants with a broad menu of private markets strategies, potentially addressing different risk tolerances and investment objectives within defined contribution plans.
The partnership represents a material development in the retirement services industry, potentially influencing how workplace retirement plans structure alternatives access and positioning Empower and Blackstone as central players in extending institutional-quality private markets strategies to millions of American workers.
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