DC plans hold $51.6 billion in private real estate

Defined contribution plans held $51.6 billion in private real estate at year-end 2025, split between $42.8 billion in dedicated DC vehicles and $8.8 billion in institutional open-end funds, a joint industry survey found.

DC investors contributed $2.1 billion and withdrew $1.4 billion in the year to Dec. 31, 2025, leaving net inflows of $725 million, the survey reported.

For allocators, the $8.8 billion in open-end funds is the figure that touches them directly: that money is commingled with institutional capital, so DC contributions and withdrawals sit in the same queue. The $42.8 billion in dedicated DC vehicles sits in funds built for the channel, outside that queue.

The Private Real Estate in Defined Contribution Survey is run jointly by the Defined Contribution Real Estate Council, NAREIM, NCREIF and PREA. IREI published the year-end figures on Oct. 29.

The year-end total is up from the $45 billion book that grew under 1 percent in 2024, as Private Wealth Daily previously reported. Net contributions of $725 million account for about 11% of the $6.6 billion year-over-year increase.

Private real estate has been slow to enter DC menus because participants expect daily pricing and ready liquidity, while buildings are appraised periodically and sold over months. IREI argues DC interest no longer looks confined to a handful of plans, a point it first made in November 2021. DC plans now hold considerably more assets than the defined benefit pensions they replaced, IREI says.