Labor Department sends its 401(k) alternative-assets rule to the White House for review, a possible safe-harbor step for plans weighing crypto

The Labor Department has sent a rule on how 401(k) fiduciaries choose investment options to the White House for review, The Block, crypto.news and Bitcoin Magazine reported on Friday. crypto.news says the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs logged the rule, titled "Fiduciary Duties In Selecting Designated Investment Alternatives," on Thursday as economically significant, with no legal deadline. The Block's report calls it a proposed rule, while crypto.news and Bitcoin Magazine describe it as the final version of the draft the department announced on March 30.

The March draft would create a safe harbor under ERISA for fiduciaries who follow a documented process, weighing six non-exhaustive factors: performance, fees, liquidity, valuation, benchmarks and complexity. Bitcoin Magazine says it is unclear whether that survived public comment. The draft applies to any investment option, and crypto is left to fiduciaries' judgment. It carries out a Trump executive order on alternative assets in retirement plans. Deputy Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling has said the department's days of picking winners and losers are over, Bitcoin Magazine reports.

Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren earlier urged the department to drop the plan, The Block notes. crypto.news cites Investment Company Institute data putting 401(k) assets at $10.8 trillion at the end of June. No timetable for publication has been reported.