Tom Sawyer famously convinced his friends that whitewashing a fence was actually really fun. A similar FOMO scenario may be playing out in workplace retirement plans.

Nearly half of 401(k), 403(b) or 457 participants said they would invest in private equity and private debt if their plans provided access, up from 36% in 2024, according to a new Schroders report. Additionally, 77% of plan participants said they would even increase contributions to their plans if private assets were available. With asset managers championing alternatives and President Donald Trump signing an executive order expanding access to them, the hype is real. But is it wise? Do participants even understand how these investments work?

“Too many investors believe that investment success increases with more complicated strategies,” said Randy Bruns, founder of Model Wealth. ”And Wall Street doesn’t help with that narrative, as financial institutions are incentivized to sell high-fee, exotic solutions.”

I Want It, I Want It

Private assets have traditionally been limited to accredited investors with net worths above $1 million. Now, with Washington’s encouragement, retirement savers are eager to access them, often without realizing private assets’ greater risk potential, lower liquidity and higher costs, said Joe Weber, founder of Integrated Financial Solutions. “[Participants] just hear a lot about them in the media and think, ‘How come I’m not invested in that?’” he told Advisor Upside.

Just 12% of plan participants reported being very knowledgeable about private assets, Schroders found. Yet enthusiasm persists:

• More than a third said they would allocate 10-15% of their workplace retirement plans to private assets.
• Most agreed they sound risky, but roughly three-fourths said private assets will help diversify their portfolios and provide greater investment return.

While any allocations would likely be handled by portfolio managers, and not participants, “significant inroads in participant education must be made to ensure all investors are familiar with the role of privates in a diversified portfolio,” said Deb Boyden, Schroders head of US defined contribution.

Private Access. Despite rising interest, only 30% of participants expect private assets to appear in their workplace retirement plans within five years. That may not be the worst outcome, Bruns suggested. “You definitely won’t miss retirement because you never owned private equity,” he told Advisor Upside. “But you could experience major setbacks if you choose it and don’t know what you’re doing.”

Trading activity has pushed Interactive Brokers’ stock through the roof, and the firm is getting a trade of its own: Today it is replacing Walgreens on the S&P 500.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) is leaving the index due to its pending acquisition by Sycamore Partners. Interactive Brokers, which was previously included in the S&P MidCap 400, has seen its stock (IBKR) price increase 35% so far this year and 95% over the past 12 months. However, the stock has been volatile, starting the year at above $45 a share before climbing to nearly $59 in February, only to fall to $36 in early April. It’s since risen to about $62, though it saw a high of over $67 earlier this month. Five years ago, it was trading at $13.

“It’s only taken us 48 years since we started trading on the floor of the AMEX,” Interactive Brokers founder and chairman Thomas Peterffy said in a live interview Tuesday with CNBC. “We didn’t expect this, because it has never happened [that] S&P will induct a firm that is still more than two-thirds owned by the original founders, or for that matter a firm that has less than 3,500 employees.”

There Are Options

Interactive Brokers saw an average of 3.5 million daily average trades on its online brokerage in July, which was a 27% increase over volume from a year prior, according to a recent disclosure by the firm. Its quarterly report published last month showed a 32% increase year over year in the number of customer accounts and a 34% increase in customer equity, at nearly $665 billion. The company’s growth simply follows the rising use of options trades, Peterffy said. “Most of our customers are professional options traders,” he said. “That’s why the firm has grown so greatly over the years.”

Of course, the company provides a range of trading services, which have expanded to predictions akin to betting:

• Last year, Interactive Brokers expanded to include trades on economic events, what it calls “forecast contracts.”
• That includes wagering via yes-or-no predictions on political events, such as whether New York State Rep. Zohran Mamdani will be elected as New York City mayor.
• The forecast trading service also includes a 3.83% “interest-like incentive coupon,” according to the firm.

Riding the Wave. While Peterffy said he expects the options trading market to keep growing, since it’s been rising over 54 years, the milestone of getting into the S&P 500 isn’t such a big deal. “Considering that I have been working at this for the past 48 years, it is not such a remarkable achievement,” he said in a statement to Advisor Upside.

In many households, managing money carries an invisible emotional weight.

It’s something that can’t be neatly quantified on a spreadsheet, but for many women, the burden extends far beyond budgeting. It’s the ongoing mental labor of anticipating needs, managing uncertainty and ensuring every dollar spent or saved reflects their values and long-term goals. As a financial planner, it’s easy to see how this mental load can take a toll. However, there’s something else that’s encouraging: a fundamental shift in how women approach their finances. They’re moving beyond simply “making it work” to using money as a powerful tool — one that creates security, cares for loved ones and enables more intentional living.

Read more.