# Executive Order directs review of 401(k) access to digital-asset and other alternative investments

> The President directed Labor to revisit its approach to alternative assets in participant-directed retirement plans and expressly included certain actively managed digital-asset vehicles in the review.

- URL: https://riadefi.com/regulation/2025-08-07-executive-order-14330-401k-alternative-assets/
- Posture: Official signal · nonbinding
- Authorities: President of the United States; U.S. Department of Labor; U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
- Event date: 2025-08-07
- Version: 1, published 2026-08-07 (first published 2026-08-07)
- Advisor-relevant: no

This entry records an official signal, such as a speech or a statement. It does not change the law.

## What changed

The President directed Labor to revisit its approach to alternative assets in participant-directed retirement plans and expressly included certain actively managed digital-asset vehicles in the review. The order does not amend ERISA’s prudence and loyalty duties or make any product suitable for a plan.

## Who it affects

- ERISA plan fiduciaries and investment committees
- Retirement advisers, asset managers, recordkeepers, and participants

## What is still open

- Labor and SEC implementing guidance or rulemaking
- Appropriate vehicle, valuation, liquidity, fee, custody, and participant-protection standards

## What it means for an advisor

- Treat the order as a forthcoming-guidance signal
- Retain documented prudent-process, diversification, fee, liquidity, custody, and participant-communication analysis

## Previous interpretation

Labor had rescinded its crypto-specific extreme-care guidance but had not yet been directed to develop this broader alternative-assets access framework.

## Sources

1. [Democratizing Access to Alternative Assets for 401(k) Investors](https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/08/democratizing-access-to-alternative-assets-for-401k-investors/) · President of the United States · 2025-08-07


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Published by Ketju Research on RIADeFi (https://riadefi.com). Educational research for financial professionals; not investment, legal, tax, or compliance advice.