If You Own A 401(k), You May Already Own A Piece Of Anthropic Before The IPO
Anthropic has filed to become a publicly traded company, but millions of people saving for retirement may already own a small part of it without knowing. Three well-known mutual funds bought shares in private Anthropic before its planned IPO. If one of these funds is in your 401(k), your retirement savings may already include some Anthropic shares.
Money Talks desk. Editor: Jake FitzGerald.
Anthropic filed to go public on October 26, 2026. But its shares are not yet available to buy on a stock exchange. Some regular mutual funds already own shares in the company. If your 401(k) includes one of these funds, you may already own a small part of Anthropic indirectly.
That headline is accurate, but the amount you own is small. Anthropic makes up no more than 1.5% of the assets in each fund listed here. Its IPO could affect these funds, but it is unlikely to change their overall value dramatically.
Mutual Funds Can Invest in Private Companies, but There Are Limits
Americans had $10 trillion in 401(k) retirement plans as of September 30, 2025, according to the Investment Company Institute. Much of this money is invested in actively managed mutual funds. These funds can buy shares in private companies when those companies raise money.
The main limit is how easily a fund can turn its investments into cash. The SEC has a rule that limits investments that are difficult to sell to 15% of a fund's total net assets. This helps make sure the fund can pay investors who want to withdraw their money. Fund managers who want to invest early in a startup therefore keep these investments small and may hold the shares until an IPO creates a public market. This is how a retirement account can have an investment in a company before its shares start trading on the stock market.
Three Funds Have Reported Investments in Anthropic
Mutual funds report what they own in a document filed with the SEC called Form N-PORT. Three widely available funds list Anthropic among their investments: Growth Fund of America (NASDAQ:AGTHX), Fundamental Investors (NASDAQ:ANCFX) and Fidelity Select Technology Portfolio (NASDAQ:FSPTX). The figures for each fund are from the date of its own report.
| Fund (report date) | Anthropic shares | Value | % of net assets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Growth Fund of America (May 31, 2026) | 5,075,585 preferred | $2,990 million | 0.83% |
| Growth Fund of America (May 31, 2026) | 2,859,590 preferred | $1,684 million | 0.47% |
| Growth Fund of America (May 31, 2026) | 519,146 common | $306 million | 0.08% |
| Fidelity Select Technology (Aug. 31, 2026) | 127,300 preferred | $99 million | 0.27% |
| Fidelity Select Technology (Aug. 31, 2026) | 658,500 preferred | $512 million | 1.39% |
| Fidelity Select Technology (Aug. 31, 2026) | 673,183 preferred | $554 million | 1.50% |
| Fundamental Investors (June 30, 2026) | 1,726,060 preferred | $1,017 million | 0.56% |
Your Share of Anthropic Is Smaller Than the Headline Suggests
Consider Fidelity Select Technology, which had about $37 billion in total net assets. Its largest Anthropic investment made up 1.5% of the fund. For example, if you had $10,000 invested in this fund, about $150 of your money would be linked to that investment.
Now compare that with the fund's largest investments. NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA | NVDA Price Prediction) made up 19% of the fund's net assets in the same report. Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) made up 16%. Changes in the value of these two companies will have a much bigger effect on your balance than anything Anthropic does on its first day of stock trading.
The Funds Changed Anthropic's Estimated Value Before Its Shares Traded
The dollar values reported by each fund are its own estimates of how much the private company is worth. This is called fair value. Because there is no public market price yet, fund managers estimate the value of the shares using information such as recent funding rounds and the prices of similar publicly traded companies. Most of these investments are preferred shares. This type of share usually gives its owner the right to be paid before common shareholders if the company is sold.
These estimates can change. In its May 31 report, Fidelity Select Technology valued its three Anthropic investments at about $75 million, $388 million and $419 million. By August 31, the same numbers of shares were valued at the higher amounts shown in the table. Any increase in these estimates is already reflected in the fund's share price.
What Anthropic's S-1 Filing Says About Preferred Shares
Anthropic's filing describes a process called “Preferred Stock Conversion.” All outstanding preferred shares that can be converted into common stock and redeemed will automatically change into common shares “immediately prior to the completion of this offering”. Some types of preferred shares will become Class A common stock. Others will become Class N common stock, which has no voting rights and is not listed on a stock exchange. After a qualifying transfer, Class N shares can convert into Class A shares.
The S-1 filing does not yet state the number of shares that will be offered or the expected price range. Once the IPO price is set, the funds' investments will have a real market price, which could be higher or lower than their current estimates. The filing also says that owners of almost all existing shares have agreed not to sell them for 180 days after the prospectus date, although some exceptions apply.
How to Check Your 401(k) in Ten Minutes
- Find your list of funds. Sign in to your retirement plan's website or open your latest quarterly statement. Look for Growth Fund of America, Fundamental Investors or Fidelity Select Technology Portfolio. Your plan may offer a version of a fund with extra letters in its name. These versions hold the same investments.
- Open the fund's holdings report. Fund companies publish full lists of their investments on their websites. You can also find free Form N-PORT filings in the SEC's EDGAR database. Search for “Anthropic” and note the date of the report.
- Work out the amount in dollars. For each Anthropic investment, multiply your balance in the fund by the percentage shown for that investment. The result tells you how much of your money is indirectly invested in Anthropic.
- Ask your HR team if you are unsure which funds you have. Your company's benefits team can tell you which funds are available in your plan and which version of a fund you own.
After Anthropic announces the number of shares it will offer and the expected price range, each fund's next holdings report will show the value of its Anthropic investment using an actual market price instead of an estimate.
Contact [email protected] if you have questions or corrections.
AJ spent 10 years writing about financial markets at The Motley Fool. He mainly covers technology stocks and larger economic trends, including interest rates and geopolitics, that can influence where markets go next. He is especially interested in stories that connect broad economic forces with individual companies.