Labor Department’s 401(k) rule enters final White House review

The U.S. Department of Labor has submitted its final rule on retirement-plan investment selection for White House review, but the rule remains pending and has not been approved. The review concerns a framework that could affect how fiduciaries evaluate cryptocurrency and other alternative investments for 401(k) plans; it would not require employers to offer crypto funds. The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs recorded receipt of rule 1210AC38 on November 5 and lists it as economically significant. The listing gives no legal deadline. The final text has not been published, so it is not yet clear whether it will retain the terms of the department’s March proposal. That proposal set out six considerations for fiduciaries selecting investment options: performance, fees, liquidity, valuation, benchmarking and complexity. The department described the approach as applying across investment categories, rather than giving crypto special treatment. A process-based safe harbor could provide a presumption that fiduciaries met the prudence requirement for the factors they considered. The proposal would not direct plan sponsors to add any particular asset or guarantee investment...