BLK Seeks to Provide Access to Private Markets to Retirement Savers

BlackRock, Inc. BLK aims to expand private market investments to retirement plans, marking a shift in how retirement products are structured. Great Gray Trust Company, LLC has chosen BlackRock to provide a custom glidepath that allocates across public and private markets for the former’s first target date retirement solution that features private equity and private credit exposures.

Great Gray, which provides trustee and administrative services to collective investment trusts, has had a commercial relationship with BlackRock since 2013. The firms are at the forefront of expanding access to innovative solutions for retirement professionals and their clients.

Rob Barnett, CEO of Great Gray, stated, “For too long, access to private markets has been limited to institutions, leaving many retirement savers behind as capital markets have evolved. By strategically allocating across public and private markets, BlackRock’s glidepath, systems and people are helping modernize the traditional target date solution.”

Jaime Magyera, BlackRock’s senior retirement sponsor, said, “BlackRock has been working with institutional investors and financial advisors to help them access private markets for years and we continue to evolve our platform in response to our clients’ changing needs. Innovating ways to thoughtfully incorporate private markets exposures into defined contribution plans underscores our commitment to providing them with the choices necessary to meet their investment objectives.”

Rationale Behind BlackRock’s Move

The demand for private assets is on the rise, as they have become an important driver of economic growth and a source of returns for many institutional and high-net-worth investors.

BlackRock’s decision to include private assets in retirement accounts come as the firm is seeing increased demand for exposure to private assets in defined contribution retirement plans.

Per BlackRock, adding private markets exposure to target-dated funds would increase returns by an additional 50 basis points each year.

According to a research paper released yesterday, BlackRock’s approach will include a 5-20% allocation to private assets in the retirement plans, depending on the investor’s age.

BLK’s Other Efforts to Expand Private Asset Offerings

This March, Magyera revealed in an interview with Bloomberg that BlackRock is integrating private equity and credit investments into pre-built portfolios.

In a first of its kind in the asset management industry, the firm designed model portfolios that combine publicly traded stocks and bonds alongside more sophisticated private equity and credit funds, with plans to add other alternatives over time.

Private markets would contribute roughly 15% to the total investments in the portfolios on average, which will be customizable. The fee to be charged was kept under wraps.

BlackRock Forays Deep Into the Private Markets

Earlier this month, in its investor presentation, BLK predicted that the private credit market could expand to $4.5 trillion in 2030, and hence, the firm is targeting $400 billion in private markets fundraising by 2030.

In fact, over the past year, BlackRock has committed nearly $28 billion to acquiring private asset firms.

In October 2024, it acquired Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) for $12.5 billion. In December, it announced an agreement to acquire HPS Investment Partners for $12 billion.

In May 2025, BlackRock acquired Preqin, a premier provider of private markets data, for $3.2 billion.

BlackRock has also collaborated with Partners Group to combine a varied pool of private assets into a single portfolio of alternatives for retail clients.

BLK’s inorganic expansion strategy to boost its presence in alternatives and private equity assets, alongside its product diversification efforts, will likely aid top-line and assets under management growth.

BLK’s Price Performance & Zacks Rank

Over the past year, BLK shares have gained 30.9%, outperforming the industry’s 17.6% growth.
 

Currently, BlackRock carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Like BLK, Other Firms Expanding in the Private Credit Market

This February, JPMorgan JPM announced an additional $50 billion allocation toward direct lending, solidifying its presence in the credit market. The move, unveiled at its 30th annual Global Leveraged Finance Conference, signals the company’s intent to become a dominant force in private credit.

Since 2021, JPMorgan has deployed more than $10 billion across 100+ private credit transactions, leveraging its extensive client base and vast origination platform. The bank’s partnerships with multiple co-lenders have further strengthened its position, bringing in an additional $15 billion in capital.

In 2024, Citigroup C inked a deal with Apollo for its subsidiary and certain affiliates of Apollo to establish a revolutionary $25-billion private credit, direct lending program. Both Citigroup and Apollo expect the program to finance approximately $25 billion of debt opportunities over the next several years, including corporate and financial sponsor transactions.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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