SEC Division of Investment Management Director Brian Daly told a private funds audience in London on Tuesday that the agency is actively exploring retail investor access to private markets and wants input from industry counsel to guide the process.
Daly, speaking at the International Bar Association’s 24th Annual International Conference on Private Investment Funds, confirmed the Division of Investment Management has “a mandate from our chairman, and from the president, to explore retail access to private markets.” He did not announce any rulemaking, formal proposal, or timetable.
The remarks were brief and procedural. Daly’s core message was directed at the fund lawyers in the room.
“We have an open-door policy and are attempting to lead by listening,” he said. “Your input as counsel, with first-hand knowledge of the issues on the ground, will be invaluable as we chart the path forward.”
The appearance came less than a week after the SEC convened a private markets roundtable in Washington on March 4, where Chairman Paul Atkins said “the presence of risk is not grounds for the perpetuation of exclusion” and argued that exposure to private markets “should not be reserved for those who satisfy a certain wealth threshold.”
That roundtable focused on valuation challenges for private assets and the mechanics of packaging them for retail distribution.
The broader policy push traces back to an executive order signed in August 2025 directing agencies to open 401(k) plans to alternative assets, including private equity, real estate, digital assets, and infrastructure. The Department of Labor is expected to release a proposed rule on the topic by mid-April.
On the SEC side, the Investor Advisory Committee recommended in September 2025 that registered fund vehicles, specifically closed-end interval funds and tender offer funds, are the most appropriate wrapper for retail exposure to private assets.
Daly’s London speech suggests the SEC is still working through how to proceed, collecting feedback from practitioners before committing to specific rule changes. The agency has signaled it favours an incremental approach, working through accredited investor definition reforms, registered fund structures, and disclosure modernization rather than broad deregulation.
