Goldman Sachs and T. Rowe Price are reportedly collaborating to offer alternative investments to wealthy clients by the end of 2025.
But while greater access to specialized assets may deliver higher returns and improve diversification, the trade-offs for investors can include less transparency, higher risks, illiquidity and fees.
The Drive to Provide Access to Alternative Investments for All
Goldman Sachs and T. Rowe Price said in early September that their partnership is focused on giving individuals and plan participants access to private markets through a range of wealth and retirement offerings. More recently, they told Reuters that the collaboration includes offering new alternative investments.
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The plan came less than a month after President Donald Trump signed an executive order that allows 401(k) retirement accounts to include alternative investments, saying he wants everyone to be able to participate in more non-traditional asset classes. Goldman Sachs and T. Rowe Price plan to offer their alternative investments as private equity, private credit and others, according to Reuters.
Asset managers across the financial industry, driven by evolving regulations and waning public market opportunities, had been targeting adding alternative investments to 401(k)s and other defined-contribution plans. Those investments had largely been available only to institutions.
The change opens the door for asset managers to access the trillions of dollars held in total by the 90 million Americans with employer-sponsored retirement plans.
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New Alternative Investment Portfolios for Wealthy Clients
To bring new alternative investments to clients, Goldman Sachs bought a $1 billion stake in T. Rowe Price. Goldman is one of the world's largest investors in alternatives. As of the end of June 2025, it was supervising $355 billion in alternative investments out of $3.29 trillion in supervised assets, according to Pensions & Investments. T. Rowe Price oversees $1.6 trillion in client assets, according to Reuters, of which about $1 trillion is related to retirement accounts.
In the fourth quarter of 2025, the partnership expects to launch new alternative investments for wealthy clients that mix private credits, equity or equity funds (that mix private equity and stocks), according to Reuters.
Mark Nachmann, global head of asset and wealth management with Goldman Sachs, told Reuters in mid-September that the new offerings would be available first to clients of Goldman Sachs and T. Rowe Price but also possibly a wider swath of clients. “The idea is to be able to open the products to everybody,” he said.
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What This Shifts Means to You as an Investor
This shift with alternative investments makes the boundary less distinct between high-net-worth and institutional investing. For clients, that means more opportunities for higher potential returns and diversification, but they also have to weigh the significant risks and fees.
Here's a look at the advantages and disadvantages:
Pros
- Higher return potential
- Diversification
- Access to once-exclusive markets
- Professional asset management
Cons
- Increased complexity
- Limited liquidity
- High fees
- High risks
Expect All Strategies by Mid-2026
Goldman Sachs and T. Rowe Price expect to work together on all the strategies and have them all in place by the middle of 2026, according to Reuters.
In the announcement of their partnership earlier in September, Rob Sharps, CEO of T. Rowe Price, said, "We are excited to collaborate with Goldman Sachs, building on our broad capabilities across public and private markets to offer clients the ability to unlock the potential of private capital as part of their retirement and wealth management strategies."
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