Bitcoin Joins the 401(k) Menu
Trump’s order adds private equity, real estate, crypto.
"President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order to allow 401(k) investors to access alternative assets for better returns and diversification. The Order directs the Secretary of Labor to reexamine the Department of Labor's guidance on a fiduciary's duties regarding alternative asset investments in ERISA-governed 401(k) and other defined-contribution plans... More than 90 million Americans participate in employer-sponsored defined-contribution plans, and most of those are currently restricted from investing in alternative assets, unlike wealthy investors and retirement plans for government workers."
Trump signs the executive order. Alternative assets in 401ks. Private equity, real estate, crypto.
But hang on.
Most people wont even click "private equity" in their allocation options. They definitely wont touch Bitcoin. Plan administrators have to allow it first. The average 401k holder cant even spell "alternative assets." They picked a target date fund in 2015 and haven't logged in since.
The negligible impact theory makes sense.
Government workers been playing this game for decades. CalPERS, Texas Teachers, all the state pensions — they're already 15% in alternatives. Making 10-12% returns while your corporate 401k gets you 6% in an index fund.
Public employees get sophisticated strategies, private sector gets vanilla. Now Trump "democratizes" it.
"Homes are affordable" or "homes are an investment" — we can only pick one. Smart observation. Except we already picked. We picked in 1978, 1999, 2008, and every election since. Politicians own real estate portfolios. Their donors own real estate portfolios. They're not voting for affordable.
The California thing is perfect. NIMBYs block development for decades, then wonder why young families flee to Texas. Now their tax base is collapsing. Schools underfunded. Services cut.
Cause, meet effect.
But they still wont build. Because their house is their retirement. See how this works.
401k plan providers still have fiduciary responsibility. Empower isnt going cowboy. They'll offer one boutique alternative fund, cap it at 5% allocation, make you click through seventeen disclosures. CYA all the way down.
The litigation threats are real. Every financial innovation starts this way. ETFs were gonna destroy markets. Derivatives were weapons of mass destruction. Now your pension owns both.
Fink knows the game. Act concerned, mention litigation, build the product anyway. By next year BlackRock will have three alternative retirement funds. Including their Bitcoin ETF in a wrapper. Watch.
Someone wants to sue Trump and redistribute the wealth to Medicare. Good luck with that. The lawyers get 40%, case takes eight years, by then its President Whoever reversing half and expanding the other half.
The Blackstone REIT CEO thing. "That guy played football in high school and had some concussions or something that made him crazy." Dark humor about dark times. People are connecting dots between financial engineering and sleeping in cars.
But violence aint the answer. Never is. The answer is understanding the game.
Here's what actually happens: 95% of people change nothing. The 5% who understand this stuff get access to strategies previously locked behind accredited investor rules. The gap widens. Not through conspiracy but through knowledge asymmetry.
"The culture wars have really put the blinds on Gen Z and millennial voters' eyes allowing both parties to rob us blind."
Bingo. While you're arguing about pronouns, they're rewriting ERISA guidelines. While you're debating border walls, they're opening your retirement to 2-and-20 fee structures.
Bitcoin in retirement accounts is the shiny object. "Crypto capital of the world" makes headlines. Meanwhile the real money flows into private credit funds yielding 12% to institutions while you get 4% on bonds.
The executive order changes everything and nothing. Everything for the few who'll use it. Nothing for the masses who wont even know it exists.
Most retirement accounts will look exactly the same in five years. But a small percentage will look radically different. And that small percentage probably isnt yours.
Unless you're reading this and actually understanding what's happening.
From my experience with Opportunity Zones, most of this money will go into real estate because it’s pretty easy for people to understand unless likely to be a scam rug pull like the Scamcoins Trump, Melania and the Rest of The Trump Crime Familyto fleece the MAGA CHUMP “paytriots” and vacuum up BRIBES
When Trump PUBLIC sector employees can invest in these deals, he means sophisticated pension fund managers, who get a large percentage of the profit (carry) to make sure it works along with ongoing asset management fees. These people do extensive due diligence because they’re ongoing profitability and fundraising from pension funds depends on it.
The average plan participant doesn’t even know what alternatives they’re invested in because this is outsourced and it’s only about 10% of their overall portfolio.
Once again, Trump is telling lies
The employs themselves are guaranteed a certain level of pension, and the risk is born by the pension fund advisor not the average investor.