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Larry Fink runs BlackRock, the biggest money manager on earth — and he has designs on your retirement account.
In his 2026 letter to investors, he made plain that he sees the trillions in America’s 401(k) plans as prime capital for private assets: private equity, private credit, infrastructure (1).
Washington is helping. A proposed federal rule would make it easier for employers to drop these alternative assets into 401(k) menus (2). Even Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has warned the plan could turn retirement accounts into a “dumping ground” for assets Wall Street is having trouble selling (1).
Here’s the part that should bother you most: you might end up owning this stuff whether you pick it or not. BlackRock and State Street are building target-date funds — the automatic default in most plans — that hold as much as 20% in private assets (3).
I’m a CPA who’s been investing for 45 years, and I built what I have on the opposite of all this: simple, low-cost investments I could understand and sell any day.
So here’s how to keep Wall Street’s pricey new products out of your retirement — even when they’re rigging it to be the default.
1. Know what they’re actually selling you
Private equity sounds exclusive, and that’s the pitch. For an ordinary retirement saver, though, it usually means three things: steep fees, no easy exit, and the leftovers.
Start with fees. A typical retirement index or target-date fund costs a fraction of a percent a year. Private equity often runs “2 and 20” — a 2% annual fee plus 20% of any gains. Fees like that quietly eat a fortune over a career, and they’re the one cost you can actually control.
And the best private deals go to big institutions. Everyday 401(k) money tends to get what the smart money already passed on.
Read Next: 11 Essential Money Moves to Make Before You Die
2. Check your plan — you may already be getting it
Most people never touch their 401(k) default, and that default is almost always a target-date fund. If your plan adopts one of the new funds holding private assets, you’ll own them without ever making a choice.
So look. Find out what your default fund holds and whether it’s changed lately. If you can’t tell from your statement — and most people can’t — that’s exactly what a second set of eyes is for.
If you need help with this or anything else investment or retirement-related, this may be the perfect time to consult a professional advisor.
Self-managed portfolios leave money on the table. A Vanguard study shows DIY investors turn $500K into $1.7 million over 25 years – while those with advisors reach $3.4 million. You could be missing half your potential wealth.
SmartAsset instantly matches you with up to three fiduciary advisors – legally required to prioritize your interests. They spot tax savings, Social Security strategies, and planning gaps you’d never see alone. And first appointments are often free.
$100K+ in investments? Get matched free in minutes.3. Keep money you can actually reach
The biggest practical danger with private assets is that you can’t get out. Your money can be locked up for years — no sell button — right when you might need it most.
That’s not hypothetical. In 2025, a record 6% of workers in Vanguard-run 401(k)s took hardship withdrawals, triple the pre-pandemic rate (4). If a chunk of your savings is frozen in an illiquid fund at that exact moment, you’re stuck.
So keep a healthy share of your money liquid and safe — the opposite of locked up.
Within your retirement account, there’s likely an option for a safe, interest-earning account.
Outside your retirement account, switching to a better bank account is one of the easiest edges out there.
If you’re still at a traditional brick-and-mortar bank, you may be paying monthly checking fees while earning almost nothing on your savings.
SoFi offers a combined checking-and-savings account with no account fees, and with eligible direct deposit you can earn up to 3.80% APY on savings — many times the national average. (APY is variable and can change at any time.)
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One thing before we keep going — the financial world is louder and dumber than ever. Hot takes everywhere. Almost none of it is worth your time. I’ve spent 35+ years cutting through the noise so you don’t have to. Sign up for the free Money Talks Newsletter — 10 seconds, no spam, just the stuff that matters.
4. If you want to diversify, keep it simple
There’s nothing wrong with owning something beyond stocks and bonds. The problem is letting someone else pick an opaque, illiquid product and bury it in your plan.
If you want a hedge, choose something transparent that you control and can sell — not a private fund you can’t see into.
With market swings and inflation on a lot of savers’ minds, some investors choose to diversify part of their retirement into physical precious metals.
A Gold IRA lets you roll over an existing retirement account into one that holds physical gold, with the same tax treatment as a traditional IRA — or you can buy physical coins delivered to your door. (Minimum investment: $15,000.)
Our partner compares leading precious-metals providers on pricing, fees, and the rollover process, so you can review your options in one place.
See how a Gold IRA works.Investing in precious metals carries risk, including price volatility. Past performance doesn’t guarantee future results. This is not investment advice.
5. Remember the one thing you can control: cost
You can’t control the market. You can control what you pay to be in it — and over decades, fees are the silent killer of returns.
That’s why I’ve always favored plain, low-cost index funds. Here’s why they beat almost everything Wall Street dreams up to sell you. As a rule, the fancier and pricier the product, the better it is for the firm selling it — and the worse for you.
The bottom line
Fink isn’t pushing private assets into your 401(k) out of generosity. BlackRock earns a fee on every dollar it manages, and there’s more than $10 trillion sitting in America’s retirement accounts it would love a bigger slice of (5).
None of this means you’re powerless. Check your default fund, keep your costs low, hold money you can actually reach, and refuse to let anyone bury something you can’t understand in the account you’re counting on.
I laid out the longer case — including exactly who stands to profit — right here. But the short version is simpler: when the most powerful man on Wall Street wants into your retirement account, the smart move is to keep your hand on the door.
Sources: Semafor (1); U.S. Department of Labor (2); Bloomberg (3); CBS News (4); Investment Company Institute (5).
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