US President Donald Trump signed an executive order allowing private equity, real estate, cryptocurrencies, and other alternative assets to be included in 401(k) plans. This represents a major victory for industries seeking to invest in these approximately $12.5 trillion in pension accounts.

The White House said Trump signed the executive order on Thursday. The order directs the Department of Labor to review its guidelines for alternative asset investments within six months for pension plans governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974.

Trump signed an executive order allowing private equity, real estate, cryptocurrencies, and other alternative assets to be included in 401(k) plans.

The Department of Labor will also be responsible for clarifying the government's position on the fiduciary duties of asset allocation funds that offer alternative holdings.

Trump also asked Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer to work with counterparts at the Treasury Department, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and other federal regulators to determine whether rule changes should be made to assist in this effort. The president directed the SEC to make it easier for pension plans with self-invested funds to include alternative assets.

This is the Trump administration's largest move yet to include such assets in defined contribution accounts.

Senior officials in Washington have been weighing issuing directives for months to alleviate long-standing legal concerns that have excluded alternative assets from most employee defined contribution plans. Pension portfolios are heavily concentrated in stocks and bonds, in part because corporate plan managers are reluctant to take the risk of investing in illiquid and complex products.

Parts of this move are similar to measures taken during Trump's first term. At that time, the Labor Department issued guidance stating that pension plan managers could include private equity in their portfolios without violating their duties. That guidance was rescinded during the previous president's term.

Trump and his family have launched several cryptocurrency ventures. The Bloomberg Billionaires Index shows that these ventures have added at least $620 million to his net worth in recent months.