Democratizing Access to Alternative Assets for 401(k) Investors
Record date: 2025-08-12
( printed page 38921) Executive Order 14330 of August 7, 2025 Democratizing Access to Alternative Assets for 401(k) Investors By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered: Section 1 . Purpose. Many wealthy Americans, and Government workers who participate in public pension plans, can invest in, or are the beneficiaries of investment in, a number of alternative assets. Yet, while more than 90 million Americans participate in employer-sponsored defined-contribution plans, the vast majority of
What this record contains
- Federal Register document
- 2025-15340
- Publication date
- 2025-08-12
- Citation
- 90 FR 38921
- Issuing office
- Executive Office of the President
Official record excerpt
( printed page 38921) Executive Order 14330 of August 7, 2025 Democratizing Access to Alternative Assets for 401(k) Investors By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered: Section 1 . Purpose. Many wealthy Americans, and Government workers who participate in public pension plans, can invest in, or are the beneficiaries of investment in, a number of alternative assets. Yet, while more than 90 million Americans participate in employer-sponsored defined-contribution plans, the vast majority of these investors do not have the opportunity to participate, either directly or through their retirement plans, in the potential growth and diversification opportunities associated with alternative asset investments. 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. They do so to protect the Americans whose retirement accounts they administer and for whom they have fiduciary duties to invest safely and prudently. During my first term, my Administration issued a 2020 information letter, recognizing that prudent Federal action could encourage the proliferation of investment strategies under which a portion of retirement plan participants' interests are allocated to alternative assets, as is the case for institutional investors. Burdensome lawsuits that seek to challenge reasonable decisions by loyal, regulated fiduciaries, and stifling Department of Labor guidance issued since my first term, however, have denied millions of Americans opportunities to benefit from investment in alternative assets. Such assets are an increasingly large portion of the portfolios of public pension and defined-benefit retirement plans and offer competitive returns along with diversification opportunities. A combination of regulatory overreach and encouragement of lawsuits filed by opportunistic trial lawyers has stifled investment innovation and largely relegated 401(k) and other defined-contribution retirement plan participants to asset classes whose returns lack the very same long-term net benefits allowed for and achieved by public pension plans and other institutional investors. My Administration will relieve the regulatory burdens and litigation risk that impede American workers' retirement accounts from achieving the competitive returns and asset diversification necessary to secure a dignified, comfortable retirement. Sec. 2 . Policy. It is the policy of the United States that every American preparing for retirement should have access to funds that include investments in alternative assets when the relevant plan fiduciary determines that such access provides an appropriate opportunity for plan participants and beneficiaries to enhance the net risk-adjusted returns on their retirement assets. Sec. 3 . Democratizing Access to Alternative Assets. (a) For purposes of this order, the term “alternative assets” means: ( printed page 38922) (i) 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; (ii) direct and indirect interests in real estate, including debt instruments secured by direct or indirect interests in real estate; (iii) holdings in actively managed investment vehicles that are investing in digital assets; (iv) direct and indirect investments in commodities; (v) direct and indirect interests in projects financing infrastructure development; and (vi) lifetime income investment strategies including longevity risk-sharing pools. (b) Within 180 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of Labor (Secretary) shall reexamine the Department of Labor's past and present guidance regarding a fiduciary's duties under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (ERISA) ( 29 U.S.C. 1104 ), in connection with making available to participants an asset allocation fund that includes investments in alternative assets. When conducting this reexamination, the Secretary shall consider whether to rescind the Department of Labor's December 21, 2021, Supplemental Private Equity Statement. (c) Within 180 days of the date of this order, the Secretary shall further, as the Secretary deems appropriate and consistent with applicable law, seek to clarify the Department of Labor's position on alternative assets and the appropriate fiduciary process associated with offering asset allocation funds containing investments in alternative assets under ERISA. Such clarification must aim to identify the criteria that fiduciaries should use to prudently balance potentially higher
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