Regulatory Updates
White House Releases Executive Order on Access to Alternative Assets for 401(k) Investors
Published August 08, 2025
President Trump signed an executive order to allow 401(k) investors to access more investment options, including alternative assets. In addition, fiduciaries of 401(k) and other defined-contribution retirement plans must carefully vet and consider all aspects of private offerings, including investment managers’ capabilities, experiences, and effectiveness managing alternative asset investments.
For purposes of this order, the term “alternative assets” means:
- private market investments, including direct and indirect interests in equity, debt, or other financial instruments that are not traded on public exchanges, including those where the managers of such investments, if applicable, seek to take an active role in the management of such companies;
- direct and indirect interests in real estate, including debt instruments secured by direct or indirect interests in real estate;
- holdings in actively managed investment vehicles that are investing in digital assets;
- direct and indirect investments in commodities;
- direct and indirect interests in projects financing infrastructure development; and
- lifetime income investment strategies including longevity risk-sharing pools.
The Executive Order:
- directs the Secretary of Labor within 180 days to reexamine the Department of Labor’s (DOL) past and present guidance on a fiduciary’s duties regarding alternative asset investments in ERISA-governed 401(k) and other defined-contribution plans.
- instructs the Secretary of Labor to clarify the DOL’s position on alternative assets and the appropriate fiduciary process associated with offering asset allocation funds containing investments in alternative assets.
- directs the Secretary of Labor to consult with the Secretary of the Treasury (Treasury), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and other federal regulators to determine whether parallel regulatory changes should be made at those agencies to give effect to the purpose of the Order.
- directs the SEC to facilitate access to alternative assets for participant-directed defined-contribution retirement savings plans by revising applicable regulations and guidance.