US (AMERICANS FOR FINANCIAL REFORM) : They’re coming for your 401(k).

 

The Department of Labor just proposed a rule that would allow private equity  firms and crypto companies to move into workers’ individual retirement  accounts, opening the door for some of the riskiest, least transparent investments  in the financial system to be packaged as prudent retirement options. These are  the same firms with a track record of bankrupting companies, stripping assets, and  walking away richer while workers and communities are left behind. Now they want  access to defined contribution plans—a pool of money that has been protected from the  most egregious excesses of Wall Street up until now. The Department of Labor is trying to sell this as modernization. They are calling it  democratization, diversification, and expanded choice. That framing collapses under even  basic scrutiny. Private equity hides fees, locks up capital, and relies on aggressive  financial engineering. Crypto swings wildly, operates with limited oversight, and has  already wiped out billions in investor value. Private equity is already spending millions trying to rebrand itself as a steward of  retirement savings, even as it’s struggling to raise funds from traditional investors  who are fleeing for the doors. This rule is the policy version of that rebrand. It takes  the same harmful model and tries to slip it into 401(k)s under a new label. Wall Street is gearing up to flood this process with industry-backed comments  meant to make this look harmless. With the June 1 deadline closing in, we have a  narrow window to build the kind of overwhelming public opposition that can  actually stop this. Submit your official comment right now demanding that the Department of Labor  block private equity and crypto from retirement accounts and protect workers’  savings. SIGN & SEND This rule weakens fiduciary responsibility at the exact moment it should be  strengthened. Retirement plans exist to provide stability and security after decades  of work. The timing of this rule is no accident. Wall Street wants access to the trillions of dollars  workers have saved for retirement through 401(k)s and other defined contribution plans.  This rule gives them a pathway in. If it goes through, millions of people could  unknowingly finance the same firms that cut their jobs, raise their rents, bankrupt their  hospitals, and destabilize their communities. Private equity profits depend on fees and extraction, not long-term stability. Crypto  markets remain deeply volatile and are prone to manipulation, and those saving for  retirement will absorb the losses when things go wrong. Americans for Financial Reform is fighting back. We are exposing what this rule  actually does, organizing public opposition, and making sure regulators hear from  real people, not just Wall Street lobbyists. But we need your voice in this process. Submit your comment today and demand that the Department of Labor reject this  dangerous rule before it puts workers’ retirement savings at risk. Thank you for speaking out to protect retirement security and hold Wall Street  accountable. -Oscar. Oscar Valdés Viera (he/him) Research Manager Americans for Financial Reform. Support the campaign

Americans for Financial Reform