T. Rowe CEO Sees Private Assets Coming to Retirement Accounts, Explores Partnerships with Alternative Managers

T. Rowe Price CEO Rob Sharps predicts private assets will come to retirement accounts, citing long time horizons and investors' willingness to trade liquidity for returns. The $1.6 trillion manager is scouting partnerships with alternative investment managers and considering various types of private assets, including investment-grade credit, infrastructure, and real estate.

T. Rowe Price Group Inc. Chief Executive Officer Rob Sharps has stated that private assets will eventually become a part of retirement accounts, citing long time horizons and investors' willingness to trade liquidity for returns. Sharps made this prediction during the company's earnings call following the release of its first-quarter results [1].

Sharps believes that the long-term nature of retirement investments makes them well-suited for private assets, which typically offer higher returns but come with less liquidity. He noted that T. Rowe Price, with $1.6 trillion in assets under management (AUM) as of March 31, is actively exploring partnerships with alternative investment managers to include private assets in its retirement products [1].

The company is already considering various types of private assets, including investment-grade credit, infrastructure, real estate, private equity, and secondaries. Sharps mentioned that these assets could be incorporated into target-date funds, which are traditionally a mix of stocks and bonds [1].

This shift towards private assets is part of a broader trend among traditional asset managers expanding into alternative and private assets. Competitors such as BlackRock Inc. and Capital Group have already started marketing private assets to individual clients, while Vanguard Group has partnered with Wellington Management and Blackstone Inc. on alternative assets [1].

Despite the potential benefits, Sharps acknowledged that there are regulatory and client adoption hurdles that need to be overcome before private market alternatives can be widely integrated into retirement products [3]. The company is actively conducting research and consultations to address these challenges [3].

T. Rowe Price's focus on private assets comes as the company reported a fall in first-quarter profit due to an outflow of funds as investors moved away from riskier assets due to tariff-related market uncertainty [2]. The company's AUM was $1.57 trillion in the first quarter, despite $8.6 billion in net outflows [2].

In other news, T. Rowe Price's ETF portfolio grew to 19 offerings, reaching $12.5 billion in AUM, with two new ETFs launched in the quarter [3]. The company also expanded its retirement segment internationally, launching products in Japan, Korea, and Canada [3].

References:
[1] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-05-02/t-rowe-ceo-says-no-question-private-assets-coming-to-401-k-s
[2] https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/t-rowe-prices-first-quarter-profit-falls-fund-outflow-2025-05-02/
[3] https://seekingalpha.com/news/4440227-t-rowe-price-signals-etf-growth-with-12_5b-aum-and-new-product-launches