Blackstone Unit to Focus on Private Investments in DC Plans

Blackstone Inc. announced Wednesday the launch of a unit focused on serving defined contribution plans as part of its larger private wealth business. It will be led by Heather von Zuben, global head of retirement solutions; Tom Nides, chair of defined contribution and vice chairman of strategy and client relations; and Paul Quinlan, head of U.S. defined contribution.

According to the announcement, the unit will focus on strategic partnerships, a lineup of perpetual products, investor education and scale strategies across private equity, real estate, private credit and private infrastructure.

“Blackstone has been a pioneer in bringing private markets investing to individuals. … Today we are cementing that status with the industry’s first dedicated defined contribution unit,” Nides said in a statement. “I look forward to working with Heather, Paul and teams across Blackstone to unlock investment opportunities for retirement savers.”

Von Zuben was previously Blackstone Credit & Insurance’s global head of perpetual capital solutions. She joined Blackstone in 2022 after 15 years at Goldman Sachs, where her leadership roles included global head of wealth management alternatives.

Nides joined Blackstone in 2024 after serving as U.S. ambassador to Israel from 2021 through 2023. He also held various roles at Morgan Stanley, including chief operating officer and vice chairman.

Quinlan was most recently global chief financial officer of Blackstone Real Estate. Prior to joining Blackstone in 2010, he worked at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

Blackstone has $1.2 trillion in assets under management, including nearly $280 billion of assets from the private wealth channel.