Continuing with the countdown of the top ten most popular blog posts, LinkedIn posts and articles I published this year, we come to the ninth most popular, an article on LinkedIn from the summer which asked the question of “How is Private Equity Like a Coffee Frappe?”

In addition to explaining that frappe is New England speak for milkshake, the article also addressed how sponsors and fiduciaries of 401(k) plans should respond to the political and marketing pressure to add private equity investments to those plans. The underlying theme was that, just like a frappe for a middle- aged lawyer, private equity investments in plans aren’t good for plan fiduciaries, but nonetheless we are all likely to give in to the allure of each. While I have no advice on how to avoid the harms of downing a frappe, I have plenty of advice on how plan fiduciaries can reduce the harm from falling for the allure of private equity investments. And I discussed that advice in the article, which was the ninth most popular blog post, LinkedIn post or article I published in 2024.