in effect
Executive Order 14330, signed August 7, 2025, directs federal agencies to study and reduce regulatory barriers that currently limit 401(k) and other defined-contribution retirement plan participants from investing in “alternative assets” such as private equity, real estate, digital assets, commodities, infrastructure, and lifetime income products. It is a directive order, not a law — it instructs agencies to review existing rules and propose new ones within set deadlines.
Within 180 days (by approximately February 3, 2026), the Department of Labor must review its existing guidance on how plan fiduciaries can include alternative assets in retirement plan investment menus, and must decide whether to rescind a December 21, 2021, Supplemental Private Equity Statement that the order treats as overly restrictive. The Department of Labor must also propose new rules, regulations, or guidance — potentially including “safe harbors” that would shield plan fiduciaries from certain lawsuits when they follow a defined process for adding alternative asset funds. The SEC must separately consider whether changes to its “accredited investor” and “qualified purchaser” rules are needed to make alternative investments accessible to retirement plan participants. The order does not itself change any existing regulation; it sets deadlines for agencies to act.
The most direct near-term impact falls on the Department of Labor and the SEC, which must conduct reviews and propose regulatory changes. Plan fiduciaries — the employers, trustees, and investment committees that manage 401(k) and similar plans — could eventually gain clearer legal guidance and reduced litigation exposure if they choose to offer alternative asset options. The more than 90 million Americans participating in employer-sponsored defined-contribution plans are the stated intended beneficiaries, though any actual change to what investments appear in their plans depends on subsequent agency rulemaking and individual fiduciary decisions.