On August 7, President Trump signed an Executive Order directing the DOL, the SEC, and Treasury (including the IRS) to review and revise guidance to facilitate the inclusion of alternative investments—such as private equity, cryptocurrency, and other non-traditional assets—in defined contribution retirement plans. The Executive Order follows action in May of this year by the DOL to rescind its 2022 guidance that discouraged fiduciaries from including cryptocurrency options in 401(k) retirement plans.

Last year in September, we published an alert about the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) final rule, which would have imposed certain anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) program and other Bank Secrecy Act-related obligations on investment advisers (IA AML Rule) effective January 1, 2026.

On June 30, 2025, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in M & K Employee Solutions, LLC, et al. v. Trustees of the IAM National Pension Fund, No. 23-1209. This case will resolve a circuit split over when assumptions used to determine withdrawal liability must be adopted.