SEI, WTW Partner on Private Assets in CITs

SEI Investments Co. and WTW Investments, a division of WTW, announced a partnership to develop private market funds available through collective investment trusts.

WTW will provide investment and operational due diligence, as well as research support for private market strategies used in retirement-focused CITs and evergreen solutions, according to the announcement. According to Christy Loop, WTW’s head of U.S. wealth and strategic initiatives, WTW selected SEI Trust Co., SEI’s trustee division, to deliver certain WTW retirement investment funds, including public and private markets, through CIT structures.

The firms will also collaborate on the design of “new products and structures intended to deliver private market strategies through DC plans,” according to the announcement.

“New product development is centered on delivering diversifying investment exposures in a format that is purpose-built for the defined contribution market, given the operational, platform and administrative requirements necessary for successful implementation,” Loop wrote in an email to PLANADVISER. “The key challenge and opportunity lies in harmonizing investment strategy, product structure and the unique needs of DC plans.”

The use of CITs as investment vehicles in 401(k) plans has grown significantly in recent years. As of 2023, CITs held 34% of assets inside 401(k) plans with at least 100 participants, according to the Investment Company Institute. By the end of 2025, CITs represented 54% of total target-date assets, having first surpassed mutual funds as the dominant vehicle in 2024, according to a Morningstar report published in March.