News & Analysis as of

Employee Benefits Private Equity Fiduciary Duty

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

Trump Executive Order to broaden 401(k) access to private equity and Crypto, fiduciaries beware

I love Bitcoin. I love private equity. They’re two of my favorite investments, personally. But when it comes to 401(k) plan participants? I hate them. Not because the asset classes themselves are bad, they’re not. But because...more

Jackson Lewis P.C.

A Fiduciary’s Next Steps After Trump’s August 2025 Executive Order: Opening the 401(k) Door to Alternative Investments

Jackson Lewis P.C. on

On August 7, 2025, President Donald J. Trump issued an Executive Order designed to broaden access to alternative investments, such as private equity, commodities, real estate, and certain digital assets, for participants in...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Executive Order Opens the Door to Alternative Assets in 401(k) Plans

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on

Shortly following our Legal Update regarding considerations for institutional investors investing in funds alongside retail investors, on August 7, 2025, President Trump issued an Executive Order (Order) entitled...more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

Intel Wins: Ninth Circuit Puts the Brakes on Anti-Private Equity Lawsuit

After six long years of litigation, Intel’s 401(k) plan design just got a big legal endorsement. A three-judge panel from the Ninth Circuit dismissed a lawsuit filed by plan participants who claimed that including hedge funds...more

Miller Canfield

New Executive Order Seeks to Facilitate Alternative Investments in 401(k) Plans

Miller Canfield on

On August 7, 2025, President Trump signed an Executive Order titled “Democratizing Access to Alternative Assets for 401(k) Investors.” This Executive Order has the potential to significantly change how retirement savings...more

Troutman Pepper Locke

Retirement Revolution: Expanding Access to Private Credit in 401(k)s

Troutman Pepper Locke on

On August 7, President Donald Trump issued an executive order directing federal agencies, particularly the Department of Labor, to work on expanding access to alternative investments for participants in 401(k) and other...more

Ballard Spahr LLP

Executive Order Seeks to Expand Access to Crypto and Private Investments in Defined-Contribution Plans

Ballard Spahr LLP on

On August 7, 2025, President Trump issued an executive order (the Order) instructing federal agencies to expand access to alternative asset investments for participants in defined-contribution retirement plans such as 401(k)...more

Cooley LLP

Private Equity and Venture Capital Investments for 401(k) Plans?

Cooley LLP on

On August 7, President Donald Trump signed an executive order (Democratizing Access to Alternative Assets for 401(k) Investors) that has been widely – and mistakenly – reported to open 401(k) plan assets to “alternative...more

Verrill

Coming Soon to Your 401(k) Plan: Tontines and Other Exotic Investments!

Verrill on

Participants in 401(k) plans and other defined contribution retirement plans may soon have the opportunity to invest their plan accounts in a variety of high-risk and potentially high-return assets. Touted as an effort to...more

Carlton Fields

Plan Sponsor and Asset Manager Considerations Under 401(k) Alternatives Executive Order

Carlton Fields on

On August 7, 2025, President Trump signed an executive order titled “Democratizing Access to Alternative Assets for 401(k) Investors,” designed to open the use of alternative investments, including private equity and actively...more

Kilpatrick

The Ninth Circuit Rejects Plaintiffs’ Challenge to 401(k) Investments in Private Equity

Kilpatrick on

On May 22, 2025, the Ninth Circuit affirmed a district court’s decision to reject a class action lawsuit brought against fiduciaries of Intel defined contribution retirement plans that challenged the plan managers’ decision...more

Kilpatrick

5 Key Takeaways | Plan Investments and Fiduciary Risk Mitigation in the Trump Era

Kilpatrick on

The landscape for retirement plan investments and fiduciary risks is shifting in the early part of the second Trump Administration, both due to changes in the administration’s policies and developments in the courts....more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

Lockhead-Martin sued for DIY TDFs

If you are a large 401(k) plan considering offering in-house funds, be prepared for potential lawsuits. Lockheed Martin Corporation and its subsidiary investment management company are facing legal action from current...more

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

Majority Owners Achieving Balance: Incentivizing Employees Without Giving Up the Keys to the Whole Kingdom

Success is not just an elusive goal – it can also be difficult to maintain once achieved. For majority owners in private companies, achieving success is just the first hurdle, because once they arrive at this pinnacle, they...more

Kilpatrick

401(k) Plan Investments: ESG, Private Equity and Cryptocurrency

Kilpatrick on

Many employers desire to offer innovative investments in their 401(k) plans as a way to enhance the plan’s value, attract talent and appeal to a younger workforce. But decisions regarding investment options are subject to...more

Proskauer - Employee Benefits & Executive...

DOL Statement on Private Equity Investment Emphasizes Fiduciary Responsibility

On December 21, 2021, the Department of Labor (the “DOL”) published a Supplemental Statement (the “Supplemental Statement”) to its June 3, 2020 Information Letter (the “2020 Letter”) addressing fiduciary considerations for...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Another Swing in DOL Investment Position

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on

Seyfarth Synopsis: Reminiscent of the DOL’s about-face on ESG investing by ERISA fiduciaries [discussed here], this week the DOL has issued a “supplemental statement” on its view of the use of private equity investments in...more

Groom Law Group, Chartered

DOL Issues Supplemental Guidance on DC Plan Private Equity Investments

On December 21, 2021, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued a statement concerning the investment in private equity by ERISA-covered defined contribution plans (the “Statement,” available here). The Statement is intended to...more

McDermott Will & Schulte

DOL: Path for 401(k) Plans to Offer Private Equity Investment Options

The US Department of Labor (DOL) issued an information letter in June 2020 indicating that, in limited circumstances, it will allow defined contribution retirement plans (such as 401(k) plans) to indirectly invest in private...more

Epstein Becker & Green

DOL Provides Guidance for Private Equity Investments in 401(k) Plans

Epstein Becker & Green on

Employers that are fiduciaries of participant-directed individual account plans (such as 401(k) plans) subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (‘Plans” and “ERISA”, respectively) should be...more

Burr & Forman

DOL Cracks Open the Door for Private Equity in 401(k) Plans

Burr & Forman on

The U.S. Department of Labor (the “DOL”) recently released an information letter that concludes, if certain conditions are met, a plan fiduciary will not violate his fiduciary duties under the Employee Retirement Income...more

Morgan Lewis

Recent Developments in ERISA Plan Investment Regulation

Morgan Lewis on

The US Department of Labor has issued guidance on private equity in 401(k) plan designated investment alternatives and a proposed regulation on environmental, social, and governance investing....more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

DOL to allow private equity investments in DC Plans

The Department of Labor (DOL) released some new guidance that might facilitate the inclusion of private equity (PE) exposure in participant-directed defined contribution (DC) plans ERISA. The guidance contemplates the...more

McGuireWoods LLP

Private Equity Investing in 401k Plans

McGuireWoods LLP on

The Department of Labor (DOL) recently issued an information letter under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) making it clear that fiduciaries of defined contribution plans — e.g., 401(k) plans — may prudently...more

Proskauer Rose LLP

DOL Provides Guidance Regarding 401(k) Plans Offering Limited Exposure to Private Equity Within a Diversified Investment Option

Proskauer Rose LLP on

On June 3, 2020, the Department of Labor (the "DOL") published an Information Letter confirming that an investment option under a 401(k) plan (or other defined contribution plan) may include a limited allocation to private...more

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