Blackstone, Ares, Apollo Partner with OneDigital to Bring Private Markets to 401(k) Plans
OneDigital, a national insurance brokerage and financial services firm headquartered in Atlanta, has introduced private investments into its personalized portfolio program for 401(k) plan sponsors, expanding access to institutional-quality strategies to support participant retirement outcomes.
“At OneDigital, we believe everyone deserves access to the tools that support long-term financial security,” said Vincent Morris, president of OneDigital Financial Services. “Private investments have played an important role in driving outcomes for institutions and sophisticated investors for decades. 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 addition incorporates select private equity, private credit, and opportunistic investment strategies through strategic relationships with leading global asset managers, including Apollo, Ares, and Blackstone. Embedded within adviser-managed portfolios, these strategies are thoughtfully structured to help enhance diversification while maintaining liquidity discipline and fiduciary governance designed to support improved participant retirement outcomes.
“For decades, private markets have helped institutions achieve potential enhanced returns, greater diversification, and reduced volatility. Blackstone has spent more than 20 years extending these same benefits to individual investors,” said Heather von Zuben, global head of retirement solutions at Blackstone. “We’re proud to work with OneDigital to expand access for retirement savers through a framework that prioritizes participant outcomes.”
Within the personalized portfolio program, private investments are implemented through professionally managed, adviser-led portfolios with oversight by OneDigital’s home office investment team. According to the company, all allocations are subject to due diligence, liquidity guidelines, and fiduciary review, with plan sponsors retaining discretion over adoption to align with their workforce needs and risk tolerance.
Collective investment trusts incorporating private investments are expected to be available to eligible plan sponsors beginning this quarter.
“We believe retirement plan participants should have access to private market asset classes, which have the potential to drive growth, generate income, and provide long-term stability,” said Raj Dhanda, global head of wealth management at Ares. “To that end, Ares is excited to work with OneDigital to offer direct private markets exposures to a broader set of individual investors.”
Earlier this month, AltsWire reported that Blackstone had joined Empower’s private markets investment partnership program. Given that Empower is the second-largest retirement services provider in the United States (second just to Fidelity Investments), the collaboration enables defined contribution plans to incorporate a range of private market strategies – including private equity, credit, real estate, and infrastructure – and similarly aims to bring institutional-grade alternative investments to millions of everyday American retirement savers.
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