Editorial Boards, Experts Praise DOL Proposed Rule Expanding Private Market Access in 401(k)s
Last week, the Department of Labor (DOL) announced a proposed rule that would open the door for tens of millions of Americans with 401(k) plans to incorporate private market investments, including private equity and private credit, into their retirement savings.
Editorial pages, policy experts, and taxpayer advocates have weighed in to praise the Department of Labor’s rule, which increases choice and strengthens guardrails for everyday savers who stand to benefit from the strong, stable returns that private markets offer.
Here is what leading opinion pages and experts are saying:
- The Wall Street Journal – Trump Wants to Liberate 401(k)s: “According to this narrative, the Labor Department is blowing open 401(k)s to risky investments that could include Trump meme coins. Sorry, not true. The Labor Department is proposing to clarify that employers don’t violate their fiduciary duty merely by incorporating private equity, real estate, and other ‘alternative’ investments in 401(k) fund options,” wrote the Editorial Board.
- The Washington Post – Investing has changed. Retirement plan regulations haven’t caught up: “Retirement accounts such as 401(k)s are the property of individuals, not their employer or the government. If outdated government regulations are preventing workers from investing their money how they want, the regulations need to be updated. The Labor Department is offering Americans the chance to gain more of a stake in the entire U.S. economy,” wrote the Editorial Board.
- The Wall Street Journal – Trump May Turn Your 401(k) Into an Old-Fashioned Pension: “Private markets help generate better risk-adjusted returns, as they do for pension plans. And lifetime income solutions provide income, like a pension. This proposal is all about retirement security—let’s not make it all about politics,” wrote Charles E.F. Millard, former Director of the United States Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.
- The Washington Post – Countless Americans face a scary retirement. This rule could change that: “The retirement security crisis facing middle-class Americans is real, even if the inequality narrative is overdrawn. Fixing it requires giving workers access to the same tool kit available to public-sector pension managers and wealthy investors. This is what the Labor Department is planning. Congress should support the proposed rule change. Employers should prepare for it. And Americans saving for retirement should demand it,” wrote Carrie Sheffield, Director of the Center for AI and Technology at Independent Women.
- Competitive Enterprise Institute – Let’s put the next SpaceX in our 401(k)s before its launch onto public markets: “The proposed DOL rule would take the first step in changing this regressive red tape by establishing a safe harbor under which a 401(k) plan administrator is not presumed to be in breach of fiduciary duty simply for offering a category of alternative assets to 401(k) participants for one of their holdings…The countdown for liftoff has begun to expand investor choice and potentially raise 401(k) returns by allowing alternative assets entry into their orbit,” wrote John Berlau, Competitive Enterprise Institute Senior Fellow and Director of Finance Policy.
- RealClearMarkets – Retirement Security Requires Modern Investment Access: “Risk-adjusted private market investments can offer portfolio diversity, helping hedge against market fluctuations. Not to mention, private equity has steadily yielded higher returns than public-market companies over the past decade. And because private market investments are generally not reported and traded daily, they are subject to less rollercoaster volatility than public positions,” wrote George Landrith, President of Frontiers of Freedom.
To learn more about how the proposed rule will expand Americans’ options to strengthen and secure their retirements, visit investmentcouncil.org/401k.
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