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Donald Trump has signed a new executive order that could change how Americans invest their retirement savings. The order would let fund managers include cryptocurrency, private equity, real estate, and other “alternative assets” in 401(k) accounts, opening the $12 trillion defined contribution retirement market to investments beyond the usual stocks, bonds, and cash.
The move is being celebrated by big asset managers, who could gain access to a massive pool of money. BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, has already announced plans for a retirement fund that would include private equity and private credit. Critics, however, warn that the change could inject too much risk into retirement savings, particularly with volatile and fraud-prone crypto markets.
Donald Trump has shifted from calling Bitcoin “a scam” to embracing digital currencies. He’s launched his own crypto venture, courted industry leaders, and pledged to make the U.S. the “crypto capital of the world.” In the executive order, he argued that “regulatory overreach” and “opportunistic trial lawyers” have stifled innovation, and promised to remove barriers that he says prevent workers from securing “competitive returns” and “asset diversification.”
The order directs the Labor Department to work with the Treasury, SEC, and other regulators to coordinate possible rule changes. But private equity executives say the rollout will take time, and lawsuits from investors who lose money are inevitable.
Analysts warn that alternative assets often come with higher fees, weaker disclosure requirements, and less liquidity, meaning they can be harder to sell quickly. Crypto is especially volatile, and its inclusion in retirement accounts could expose savers to steep losses.
Proponents counter that younger investors, who have decades before retirement, could benefit from higher-return opportunities early on, with funds gradually shifting toward safer assets over time.
Alongside the retirement order, Trump also signed a separate measure targeting the alleged “debanking” of conservatives, echoing complaints from some Silicon Valley investors that banks have cut off services for political reasons.
Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren has already raised concerns, pressing asset managers on how they plan to protect investors from high-risk, opaque products. While some in the industry see Donald Trump’s move as a long-term win, even BlackRock’s CEO, Larry Fink, admitted that the benefits might not be immediate, given the “litigation risk” and complexity of adding these investments to 401(k) plans.