ICI Applauds DOL Action On Including Alternatives In 401(k) Plans

Washington, DC; August 12, 2025—Today, Investment Company Institute (ICI) President and CEO Eric J. Pan released the following statement regarding the Department of Labor’s (DOL) announcement today that the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) has rescinded a December 2021 supplemental statement that discouraged fiduciaries from considering alternative assets in 401(k) investment lineups.

“ICI welcomes the Department of Labor’s announcement today rescinding a 2021 supplemental statement which had chilled the adoption of alternative assets in retirement plans. The decision marks a welcome return from the Department to the principles-based approach that fiduciaries have always followed under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).

“The speed at which the Department has moved following President Trump’s recent executive order is an encouraging sign of its commitment to implementing the order in full and offering millions of American retirees the chance to participate in private market offerings through their professionally managed workplace retirement plans.”