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Title: Trump Signs Executive Order Opening 401(k) Retirement Market To Crypto
Investments

Link: https://slashdot.org/story/25/08/07/2010210/t...

President Trump is set to sign an executive order opening up 401(k)
retirements plans to alternative assets, like private equity, real estate,
and cryptocurrency. The move has the potential to unlock trillions in new
investment for asset managers outside of stocks, bonds, and cash, "though
critics say it also could bring too much risk into retirement investments,"
reports Reuters. From the report: "The order directs the Securities and
Exchange Commission to facilitate access to alternative assets for
participant-directed defined-contribution retirement savings plans by
revising applicable regulations and guidance," the White House official said
on condition of anonymity. The order directs the Labor Secretary to consult
with her counterparts at the Treasury Department, the SEC, and other federal
"regulators to determine whether parallel regulatory changes should be made
at those agencies," the official said. [...] The new investment options carry
lower disclosure requirements and are generally less easy to sell quickly for
cash than the publicly traded stocks and bonds that most retirement funds
rely on. Investing in them also tends to carry higher fees. In defined
contribution plans, employees make contributions to their own retirement
account, frequently with a matching contribution from their employer. The
invested funds belong to the employee, but unlike a defined benefit pension
plan, there is no guaranteed regular payout upon retirement. Many private
equity firms are hungry for the new source of cash that retail investors
could offer after three years in which high interest rates shook their time-
honored model of buying companies and selling them at a profit. Whatever
results may come from Trump's order, it likely will not happen overnight,
private equity executives say. Plaintiffs' lawyers are already preparing for
lawsuits that could be filed by investors who do not understand the
complexity of the new forms of investments.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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