Employers that want to offer 401(k) participants access to private equity get new rule | CNN Business

The Department of Labor unveiled on Monday a new proposed rule for 401(k) plan sponsors that want to offer plan participants the option of investing in private equity and other “alternative” investments like crypto and commodities. The proposed rule gives plan fiduciaries “maximum discretion and flexibility in selecting any particular investment as a designated investment alternative,” according to the DOL. “The department’s days of picking winners and losers are over. Our rule clearly spells out that managers must evaluate any and all potential product offerings by following a prudent process,” said Deputy Secretary of Labor Keith Sonderling in a statement. “This proposal is decidedly neutral and refrains from saying that any asset class is any better or worse than other investment types, as the law requires.” That may be welcome news to the private equity and credit industries, which have long sought access to the trillions of dollars invested in workplace retirement plans. Employers have technically always been free to offer alternative investment options in their 401(k)s. But very few have done so to date because such investments have been more opaque and expe