President Trump has signed an executive order expanding the permissible investment choices within 401 k retirement plans to include private equity, private real estate and cryptocurrency. The order instructs the Department of Labor and the Securities and Exchange Commission to issue guidance enabling such inclusion in defined contribution retirement accounts. This marks a major shift in retirement investing policy and opens doors for alternative asset classes to enter mainstream retirement vehicles. The change could unlock access to a roughly $12 trillion pool of defined‑contribution retirement funds. This represents an unprecedented opportunity for private asset managers such as Blackstone, KKR and Apollo Global Management to attract capital from everyday investors. According to reports, companies including BlackRock and Empower are already developing retirement products that incorporate alternative assets, signalling rapid industry response. The executive order reverses previous caut...