News & Analysis as of

Fiduciary Duty 401k Department of Labor (DOL)

Epstein Becker & Green

We’re Not in Kansas Anymore: ESG, Cryptocurrency, and Alternative Asset Investments in 401(k) Plans, Oh My!

Epstein Becker & Green on

What You Need to Know - The Trump Administration has shifted away from Biden-era rules related to certain investments, like alternative asset investments, ESG, and cryptocurrency in 401(k) plans....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

McGuireWoods LLP

The Thoughtful Fiduciary’s Guide to Alternative Assets for 401(k) Investors

McGuireWoods LLP on

President Donald Trump issued an Executive Order on Aug. 7, 2025, expanding access for 401(k) plan investors to alternative assets. This alert provides a summary of what the order does and does not do, and offers fiduciaries...more

Holland & Hart - The Benefits Dial

I Might Be In Oklahoma But I’m Not OK … Fiduciary Considerations Following Executive Order Allowing Private Equity in 401(k)s

Last week the White House issued an executive order directing the Department of Labor (DOL) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to facilitate 401(k) participants’ access to alternative investments, including private...more

Seward & Kissel LLP

Democratizing Access to Alternative Assets for 401(k) Investors

Seward & Kissel LLP on

On August 7, 2025, President Trump signed an executive order titled “Democratizing Access to Alternative Assets for 401(k) Investors,” which instructs the Department of Labor (DOL) and the Securities and Exchange Commission...more

Davis Wright Tremaine LLP

Is Your Defined Contribution Plan Ready for Alternative Assets?

President Trump has issued an Executive Order ("Order") to enable defined contribution plans (e.g. 401(k) and 403(b) plans) to invest in "alternative assets," such as private equity, real estate and digital assets. The Order...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

Ropes & Gray LLP

Planning to Take Advantage of Executive Order on Alternatives in 401(k)s: Five Key Takeaways and Five Action Items for Managers

Ropes & Gray LLP on

On August 7, 2025, President Trump issued a long-rumored executive order (the “Order”) that calls for expanded access to private equity and other alternative investments for 401(k) plans and their participants. The Order...more

King & Spalding

Executive Order Seeks to Promote Incorporation of Alternative Assets in 401(k) Plans

King & Spalding on

On August 7, 2025, President Trump issued an executive order entitled “Democratizing Access to Alternative Assets for 401(k) Investors” (the “Executive Order”),1 requiring the Department of Labor (“DOL”) and the Securities...more

Bond Schoeneck & King PLLC

The Trump Private Equity Order: What Plan Fiduciaries Need to Know Now

Background - On Aug. 7, 2025, the president issued an executive order that may result in an expansion in the types of holdings common in 401(k), 403(b) and other defined contribution plans....more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

The New Priorities: Why Plan Sponsors Are Shifting Focus from Cost-Cutting to Cybersecurity and AI

For years, if you asked a 401(k) plan sponsor what their top concern was, you’d get a predictable answer: cost. Cutting expenses. Reducing fees. Pinching pennies. And it made sense. In a post-fee lawsuit world, with advisors...more

Goodwin

Trump Administration’s Executive Order to Facilitate Availability of Alternative Assets in Defined Contribution Plans: What Does...

Goodwin on

On August 7, 2025, the Trump Administration issued a long-awaited executive order (the “Executive Order”) to encourage sponsors of 401(k) and other participant-directed defined-contribution plans that are governed by the...more

Proskauer - Employee Benefits & Executive...

Trump Signs Executive Order Directing the DOL and SEC to Facilitate 401(k) Plan Access to Alternative Assets

On August 7, 2025, President Trump signed an executive order entitled “Democratizing Access to Alternative Assets for 401(k) Investors” (the “Executive Order”), which directs the Department of Labor (the “DOL”) and the...more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

The Forfeiture Fiasco: Why the DOL and Common Sense are on the Right Side of the HP Case

It’s not often you see the U.S. Department of Labor jumping into the legal ring to back plan sponsors, but when they do, you know something bigger is at stake than just one plan participant’s gripe. That’s exactly what...more

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP

Democratizing Access To Alternative Assets For 401(K) Investors (Trump EO Tracker)

This executive order directs the Department of Labor to reevaluate and clarify its guidance under ERISA regarding fiduciary duties related to including alternative assets in 401(k) retirement plans. It aims to expand access...more

Lathrop GPM

New Executive Order Opens the Door for Alternative Assets as 401(k) Plan Options

Lathrop GPM on

On August 7, 2025, President Trump signed an Executive Order entitled, Democratizing Access to Alternative Assets for 401(K) Investors (“the EO”), which directs the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Department...more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

Bitcoin Over $120K? That Doesn’t Mean It Belongs in Your 401(k)

Bitcoin has blown past $120,000 and, predictably, the buzz is back. Advisors are getting questions. Participants are curious. And yes, some plan sponsors are starting to wonder if it’s time to add crypto to their 401(k)...more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

Quick Tips for Plan Sponsors Who Want to Stay Out of Trouble

If you’re a 401(k) plan sponsor, you don’t need to be an ERISA expert—you just need to avoid doing dumb things. Here are a few quick tips to help you stay on the right side of your fiduciary duties and keep your participants...more

Ropes & Gray LLP

DOL Sheds Light on the Fiduciary Responsibilities That Arise with Pooled Employer Plans PEPs

Ropes & Gray LLP on

On July 28, 2025, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued some new interpretive guidance as part of a request for information (“RFI”) about pooled employer plans (“PEPs”) and an employer’s fiduciary responsibilities that...more

Kilpatrick

DOL Signals Shift to a More Fiduciary-Friendly Enforcement of ERISA

Kilpatrick on

One of the key questions that plan sponsors and fiduciaries have had about the second Trump Administration is how the Department of Labor (“DOL”) would advance the Trump Administration’s policy goals given the...more

Kelley Drye & Warren LLP

Simplified Option for Correcting Certain Retirement Plan Failures

Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) amended its Voluntary Fiduciary Compliance Program (“VFCP”) to provide retirement plan sponsors with a simplified option for correcting certain specified prohibited...more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

M&A &401(k): Where Fiduciary Oversight Often Goes to Die

I n the world of corporate mergers and acquisitions, attention is lavished on financial statements, contracts, intellectual property, real estate, and executive compensation. Armies of lawyers and accountants pore over every...more

Snell & Wilmer

A Return to Form: Department of Labor Walks Back Crypto Warning for 401(k) Plans

Snell & Wilmer on

In Compliance Assistance Release 2025-01 (the “Release”), the Department of Labor (the “Department”) rescinded its prior guidance that cautioned fiduciaries against offering cryptocurrency investments in their retirement...more

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