654. Is the Public Ready for Private Equity?

A Trump executive order is giving retail investors more access to private markets. Is that a golden opportunity — or fool’s gold?   SOURCES: Elisabeth de Fontenay, professor of law at Duke University. Steven Kaplan , professor of entrepreneurship and finance at the University of Chicago.   RESOURCES: " Democratizing Access to Alternative Assets for 401(k) Investors ," (The White House, 2025). " The (Heterogeneous) Economic Effects of Private Equity Buyouts ," by Steven J. Davis, John Haltiwanger, Kyle Handley, Ben Lipsius, Josh Lerner, and Javier Miranda (Management Science, 2025). " Risk-Adjusted Returns of Private Equity Funds: A New Approach ," by Arthur G. Korteweg and Stefan Nagel ( The Review of Financial Studies , 2025). " The Effects of Management Buyouts on Operating Performance and Value ," by Steven Kaplan (Journal of Financial Economics, 1989).   EXTRAS: " The Biden Policy That Trump Hasn't Touched ," by Freakonomics Radio (2025). " Should Companies Be Owned by Their Workers? " by Freakonomics Radio (2024). " Do You Know Who Owns Your Vet? " by Freakonomics Radio (2023). " Are Private Equity Firms Plundering the U.S. Economy? " by Freakonomics Radio (2023). Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.