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New Data: 401(k) Retirement Savers Increasingly Interested in Alternative Assets

Analysis

A new Schroders survey finds 52 percent of 401(k) participants would invest in alternative assets if their plan offered access, and 81 percent of those would save more.

New data suggests that American retirement savers increasingly want access to alternative asset classes in their 401(k).

According to the Schroders 2026 U.S. Retirement Survey reported in InvestmentNews, 52 percent of workplace retirement plan participants say they would invest in alternative asset classes if their plan offered access. That's up from 45 percent last year and 36 percent in 2024. In two years, interest has grown by nearly half.

The details are just as telling:

  • 78 percent believe alternative assets can improve a 401(k) portfolio through diversification, and 77 percent see an opportunity for greater returns.
  • 42 percent now expect these options in their plan within five years, up from 30 percent a year ago.
  • Among those who want access, 81 percent say they would increase their contribution rate.

That last number deserves attention. Providing workers more choices doesn't just change what they invest in - it inspires them to save more.

Savers are also becoming more informed. The share of participants calling themselves "very knowledgeable" about these investments nearly doubled in a year, from 12 to 23 percent. As Schroders' Deb Boyden told InvestmentNews, "awareness of the asset classes' performance, diversification potential, and resilience has grown among retirement savers."

Demand is rising, knowledge is rising, and workers are ready to save more. The only thing missing is access. That's why the Department of Labor's proposed rule, released earlier this year, matters. It gives plan fiduciaries a clear, process-based safe harbor for offering these options. It carries out the executive order President Trump signed in August 2025, which set out to end a two-tiered system where wealthy investors and government pension beneficiaries get a full menu of options and everyone else doesn't. The comment period closed months ago, and a final rule should come soon. When it does, savers shouldn't have to wait any longer.

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