AIC CEO in the Financial Times: Everyday savers deserve to enjoy the strengths of private markets
Dunham: “Expanding 401(k) access to private markets is a matter of expanding investor choice… The same investment options that support 35mn pensions for teachers, firefighters, and public servants should be available to all.”
The Financial Times recently published a letter-to-the-editor from AIC President and CEO Will Dunham advocating for giving everyday savers the freedom to access private markets through their 401(k)s. The letter responds to Brigham Young University Law Professor William Clayton’s recent op-ed, “Allowing 401ks to Invest in Private Markets Is a Bad Move at a Bad Time.”
“Private equity investments consistently outperform other asset classes over the long-term — net of fees and adjusted for risk, according to the University of North Carolina’s Institute for Private Capital,” Dunham writes. “Research from Georgetown University’s Center for Retirement Initiatives found that including private investment in a diversified 401(k) would increase the average retiree’s annual income by $2,400.”
Read the full Financial Times letter below:
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Financial Times: Everyday savers should be able to invest in private markets
March 20, 2026
William Clayton’s concerns regarding private market investment in 401(k) retirement savings accounts are misplaced (On Wall Street, FT Weekend, March 7). He dismisses potential benefits to everyday savers while overemphasising potential risks. In doing so, his assessment fails to accurately reflect the realities of today’s public and private markets.
Public markets have served savers well for decades, but even Professor Clayton acknowledges they now offer fewer options. Today, there are half as many publicly traded companies in the US as there were two decades ago. Because companies stay private longer, everyday savers miss out on early, exponential growth. Private equity investments consistently outperform other asset classes over the long-term — net of fees and adjusted for risk, according to the University of North Carolina’s Institute for Private Capital. Research from Georgetown University’s Center for Retirement Initiatives found that including private investment in a diversified 401(k) would increase the average retiree’s annual income by $2,400.
“Diversified” is a keyword here. No one is advocating 401(k) savers put 100 per cent of their savings into private investment. Rather, it should be one option available to savers working with their highly qualified asset manager to build a balanced portfolio that meets their needs.
Expanding 401(k) access to private markets is a matter of expanding investor choice. Public pension funds greatly benefit from access to private equity and private credit. The same investment options that support 35mn pensions for teachers, firefighters, and public servants should be available to all. Everyday savers deserve to enjoy the strengths of private and public markets alike.
Will Dunham
President and CEO, American Investment Council, Washington, DC, US
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