(Financial Times) cited informed sources indicating that President Donald Trump is considering issuing an executive order to open the U.S. pension market, allowing 401(k) retirement accounts to invest in cryptocurrencies, gold, private equity, and other 'alternative assets.'
Reports also mention that Trump may sign this executive order as early as this week, and once effective, regulatory agencies will have to comprehensively review the regulatory barriers that may hinder the inclusion of alternative assets in 401(k) retirement accounts.
It is worth noting that this policy direction is consistent with the recent attitude of U.S. federal agencies towards the 'inclusion of crypto assets in retirement allocations,' which has become more lenient. On May 28 of this year, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) took the lead in rescinding the previous Biden administration's warnings to pension managers that they must be 'extremely cautious' when including crypto assets, arguing that the previous policy excessively intervened in the market.
In terms of legislation, Republican Congressman Peter Meijer proposed the Retirement Savings Modernization Act back in 2022, attempting to amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) of 1974 to include digital assets, venture capital funds, and private equity in the scope of retirement investment. Unfortunately, the bill ultimately failed to make it to the voting agenda.
The 401(k) is the most common retirement savings method in the United States, allowing workers to contribute a portion of their salary to individual retirement accounts, while employers must offer 3 to 4 different investment portfolios. Currently, almost all 401(k) investments are concentrated in mutual funds, ETFs, stocks, and bonds.
According to statistics from the Investment Company Institute, as of March this year, the scale of 401(k) retirement assets for the American public has reached 8.7 trillion dollars.
"Trump wants to open up 'retirement investment in cryptocurrencies'! News: Executive order may be signed as early as this week" This article was first published by (Blockkey).
