As the industry works through what expanded access to alternatives in defined contribution plans may require, Matrix Trust Company, a Broadridge company, has been supporting alternative and non-traditional assets in retirement plans for more than two decades.
There is more to alternatives in DC plans than access
Dig into the operational reality with a partner that providers turn to when plans get complex.
At a glance
How support models are taking shape
Recordkeepers know interest in alternatives is growing. What is less certain is whether the infrastructure exists to support them well. That gap is where experience matters most. As the market evolves, structures like Collective Investment Trusts will become part of how broader access is delivered over time. At the same time, alternatives are already part of certain retirement plans today through other support models, including private asset holdings and brokerage linked arrangements.
Two decades of experience
Across the plans we support, participants currently hold approximately 1,200 individual participant private assets. These are live, ongoing arrangements in plans that often serve executives, physicians, attorneys, and other professionals with significant balances and interest in investments beyond traditional plan options.
For plan providers, that experience translates directly into established operational support for complex assets you can rely on. We have already built processes around the operational challenges these assets introduce, helping providers avoid building that infrastructure from scratch.
What these assets look like in practice
The holdings we support span a range of asset types, many of them long-term and illiquid by design:
- Annuities
- Brokerage-linked investments
- Life insurance policies
- Limited partnerships
- Private equity interests
- Private stock
Some are tied to real estate strategies. Some represent ownership interests in private companies. Each asset type comes with its own documentation, valuation, and servicing requirements. There is no single playbook that covers all of them.
Operational readiness is the real question
The complexity in supporting alternatives often lies less in the initial investment decision than in everything that follows. These assets typically involve:
- Limited liquidity and transfer restrictions that require active, ongoing tracking
- Annual valuation requirements and continuous documentation obligations
- Participant servicing needs that go beyond standard plan infrastructure
- Highly manual administration processes that cannot simply be automated away
- Special taxation requirements that must be managed each year depending on the private asset type
We have built processes around these realities, and this depth of experience is one of the reasons providers turn to us when plans become more complex.
Questions recordkeepers should be asking
Before expanding into alternatives, recordkeepers should pressure-test their readiness across a few key areas. The answers will shape what kind of support model is actually needed.
Unlike publicly traded securities, many alternative assets do not have a daily market price. Annual or event-driven valuations require a separate process, and the plan record needs to reflect those values accurately over time.
Alternatives often do not follow the same liquidity and distribution timelines as traditional plan assets. Participant servicing, reporting, and recordkeeping all need to account for that difference without disrupting the broader plan experience.
Many advisors managing alternative assets do so through established firm relationships and systems. A support model that requires moving those assets may not be workable. Connectivity to the advisor's existing custodian can be an important consideration, not just a convenience.
Alternatives require continuous documentation, servicing, and oversight that does not end at onboarding. Recordkeepers should be clear on where that responsibility sits and whether their current infrastructure and partner relationships can carry it.
Brokerage-linked assets and managed accounts
For brokerage-linked and managed account arrangements, we support these holdings through the Advent Custodial Network. There are ~200 brokerage firms accessible through our Advent Custodial Network connection, allowing eligible assets to stay in sub-custody at the advisor’s firm.
Automated daily feeds flow into our trust platform, supporting current plan records. In certain managed arrangements, portfolios can be unitized and assigned a daily NAV, allowing them to function within a daily-valued retirement plan structure. For advisors who want to continue managing eligible assets through their existing firm relationships and systems, this is a meaningful capacity.
Experience is the differentiator
As the regulatory environment evolves and more providers look to expand into alternatives, operational readiness will matter as much as investment access. The infrastructure required is not something that can be stood up quickly. It is built through years of operational experience.
We have been doing it, and we are ready to help retirement plan providers who want a partner with experience supporting complex and non-traditional assets.