Josh Shrair

2026 is shaping up to be the year of the IPO Jun 16, 2026 11:10:58 AM SpaceX, OpenAI, and Anthropic are all going public this year. Here's what that means for your retirement savings./span> You've probably seen the headlines. SpaceX, OpenAI, and Anthropic are all expected to go public in 2026, and together they represent more than $3 trillion—though only a slice of that will actually be available to trade when they first list. It's one of the most significant IPO years in recent memory. But if you're invested in a 401(k) or IRA, the more relevant question is: Does any of this actually affect your account? The short answer: It depends on where your money is invested. Here's what to know. First, how do IPOs end up in your portfolio? When a company goes public, its shares become available to buy and sell on the open market. But that doesn't mean it immediately shows up in the index funds most retirement accounts are built on—like the ones tracking the S&P 500 or total U.S. stock market. Index funds are designed to track a specific list of companies. When a new company gets added to that list, the fund buys it. When it gets removed, the fund sells it. You don't have to do anything. It happens automatically. The timeline for when a newly public company gets added to an index varies. Historically, there's been a waiting period to let the market settle, pricing stabilize, and financials get assessed. But the scale of this year's IPOs has prompted several major index providers to update their rules, moving much faster (in some cases) than they would have before. Will these companies show up in your Betterment portfolio? It depends on which portfolio you're in. If you're in the Core portfolio, your U.S. stock exposure primarily comes through funds that track the S&P 500. The S&P 500 has chosen to keep its existing rules in place, including a requirement that companies have at least 12 months of trading history and meet certain earnings criteria before they're eligible. So Core portfolio investors are unlikely to see SpaceX, OpenAI, or Anthropic show up anytime soon after their IPOs. If you're in a different Betterment portfolio—like Value Tilt, Innovative Tech, or one of our Socially Responsible Investing portfolios—your U.S. stock exposure may come through broader market funds that operate on faster timelines. Some of those funds could add these companies within just five trading days of their IPOs. Not sure which portfolio you're in? You can check anytime in your Betterment account. Even if they do show up, how much will you own? Probably less than you'd expect given the headlines. Most index funds weight companies based on how many shares are actually available for public trading—not the company's total value. At IPO, the vast majority of SpaceX shares, for example, are expected to remain locked up with Elon Musk, employees, and early investors. Only a small slice—estimated at around 3–4%—would trade publicly. That means even in funds that add SpaceX quickly, the actual weight in your portfolio would likely be well under 1%. A meaningful position, but not a dramatic one. What about concentration in the broader market? This is worth knowing as a long-term investor. Technology and tech-adjacent sectors like Communication Services account for over 40% of the S&P 500. Adding several trillion dollars of tech-adjacent companies this year could push that higher. What that means in practice: broad index funds will keep doing what they're designed to do—reflect the market as it is. But as the market itself becomes more concentrated in a smaller number of large tech companies, the diversification you get from any single index fund may be more limited than it once was. It's not a reason to panic. It is worth understanding. What if you want more control? If you want to invest directly in SpaceX, OpenAI, or Anthropic after they go public, Betterment's Flexible portfolios let you adjust investments to build wealth the way you want to. That said, newly public stocks can be volatile, especially in the weeks right after listing. If you're considering a direct position, think carefully about how it fits into your overall portfolio, not just how exciting the company is. The bottom line The 2026 IPO wave is real, and these are genuinely significant companies. But for most retirement investors, the impact on your account will be more gradual and more modest than the headlines suggest. Your portfolio is built for the long term—and it's designed to adapt as the market changes, without you having to do a thing.

Introducing the Betterment 401(k) mutual fund lineup Oct 23, 2025 1:33:35 PM Learn more about Betterment's curated lineup of low-cost mutual funds. Key takeaways: Betterment 401(k) plans now offer a curated mutual fund lineup. Funds span major asset classes—U.S. and international stocks, bonds, and REITs. Target date funds offer built-in diversification that adjusts as employees near retirement. Betterment acts as a 3(38) fiduciary, selecting and monitoring cost-effective options. The lineup features top fund families like Vanguard, Fidelity, iShares, Schwab, and State Street. We’re excited to introduce mutual funds to Betterment 401(k) plans, giving you more ways to invest for your retirement goals. Our new mutual fund lineup offers a range of professionally managed options that make it easy to stay diversified. Each fund provides exposure to different parts of global stock and bond markets, giving you flexibility to build a customized portfolio—or simply choose a target date fund that automatically adjusts as you get closer to retirement. Here’s what you need to know about how these funds work and what’s available in your plan. Please note: Your plan may use our managed ETF portfolios or a customized fund menu from a third-party advisor. Log in to see what investment options are available in your plan. What are mutual funds? Mutual funds are professionally managed funds that pool investor dollars into a diversified portfolio of stocks, bonds, or both. They give individuals and institutions an easy way to access different parts of the global market without having to purchase each security individually. With a single mutual fund, investors can gain exposure to dozens or even hundreds of securities, helping to spread risk and simplify portfolio management. Additionally, mutual funds come in different flavors, from broad market funds (i.e. the entire international developed market) to more niche (i.e. U.S. small cap value stocks). Mutual funds represent 65% of assets held in 401(k) plans, or over $5T, as of 2024. One type of mutual fund commonly used in 401(k) plans is the target date fund, which offers an easy, built-in way to stay diversified and prepare the investor for retirement. This fund, with its glidepath approach, automatically de-risks over time, as participants near the “target” retirement year. Asset allocation becomes more conservative as participants near retirement, with more exposure to bonds rather than stocks to preserve capital. How Betterment builds and monitors your investment fund lineup As your investment fiduciary, the Betterment Investing team designs, selects, and monitors the mutual funds in your 401(k) plan—making changes as needed. To build the lineup, we review a wide range of mutual funds across the industry and group them by market type (for example, U.S. large-cap stocks or international bonds). We then evaluate funds based on cost, quality, and effectiveness, focusing on those that provide strong market exposure at a low cost. Funds with extra fees or unnecessary charges are filtered out through our internal cost of ownership review. For target date funds, we use the same cost-focused approach while also considering additional factors, such as the glidepath. Betterment selects a cost-effective option, managed by an experienced firm that uses similar strategies to Betterment’s own glidepath. As part of our fiduciary responsibility and oversight, Betterment monitors the funds on an ongoing basis. This consists of quarterly reviews of performance and market exposure. If the Investing team identifies a more suitable mutual fund, either from a cost, performance, or asset class exposure perspective, Betterment’s Executive Investment Committee will implement changes as necessary. What is available in my mutual fund lineup? Now that you have a sense of the process Betterment takes to design, select, and monitor your mutual fund lineup, you probably want to know what is available to invest in. Today, the Betterment 401(k) mutual fund lineup consists of more than 20 index (or passive market tracking) mutual funds managed by Vanguard, Fidelity, iShares, Schwab, and State Street as well as a target retirement fund series managed by Vanguard. More specifically, the exposures available in the mutual fund lineup are composed of: U.S. stock funds with exposures to large-, mid-, and small-cap stocks and more specific options for growth, value, or blend stocks International stock funds with exposure to both international developed and emerging markets U.S. bond funds with exposure to corporate, treasury, and inflation protected bonds International bond funds with exposure to both international developed and emerging markets regions REIT (real estate investment trust) funds providing exposure to U.S. and international markets Money market fund A professionally managed target date fund series While the above represents the methodology and exposures of the Betterment mutual fund lineup, keep in mind that your plan may have different investment options. Log in to your account to see what is available for your 401(k) plan.