OneDigital, a national insurance brokerage and financial services provider, announced the addition of private market investment options to its personalized portfolio program for 401(k) plan sponsors. The program will incorporate private equity, private credit and opportunistic investments from Blackstone, Apollo Global Management and Ares Management.
The private market investments will be accessed through advisor-managed portfolios and will be overseen by OneDigital’s home investment team. They will not be available through participant-directed menus. OneDigital plans to launch CITs incorporating private investments for eligible plan sponsors during the first quarter.
“Private investments have played an important role in driving outcomes for institutions and sophisticated investors for decades,” OneDigital President Vince Morris said in a statement. “By thoughtfully bringing these strategies into the workplace through our personalized portfolios program, we’re expanding access in a structured, fiduciary-aligned way with the aim of improved retirement outcomes over time.”
The financial services industry has been expanding its efforts at providing DC plan sponsors with private investment options since the Trump administration signaled its intent to make it easier for plan sponsors to incorporate them. Last week, for example, Empower, the second-largest retirement plan provider in the country, added Blackstone to its private markets investment partnership program for DC plan sponsors. Empower launched its private markets investment partnership program in May. Other large firms that have announced plans to incorporate private market investments in DC plans include Fidelity Investments and Morgan Stanley. A recent survey by Cerulli Associates found that by 2030, up to 7% of DC plan sponsors may have private markets allocations.
The move also comes a few months after OneDigital sold a majority stake in the business to Stone Point Capital and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments). The deal values OneDigital, which has about $143 billion in assets under management and advisement, at more than $7 billion.