Skip to content

ETFs Review Our ETFs

Start an ETF

Research New? Start Here

Blog

Academic Research

Books

About Firm

Team

Strategies 1042 QRP Solutions

Long-Only

Custom Solutions

Search

Should Your Mom Have Private Equity in Her 401K?

Private equity has long been marketed as the golden ticket. Higher returns. Exclusive access. Institutional-grade investing. The pitch now is simple. Bring it to retail portfolios, including 401(k)s. Critics argue that once you account for fees, illiquidity, and realistic fund selection, much of that advantage disappears. This paper pushes back on the narrative. It shows that for most investors, private equity may not deliver the promised edge. And more importantly, it proposes a simpler, more liquid way to access the same economic exposure.

Nori Gerardo Lietz

Harvard working paper series, 2026

A version of this paper can be found here

Want to read our summaries of academic finance papers?…