CfPA Urges Labor Department to Add 7th Safe-Harbor Factor for Alternative Assets
Updated
Updated · USA TODAY · May 27
CfPA Urges Labor Department to Add 7th Safe-Harbor Factor for Alternative Assets
2 articles · Updated · USA TODAY · May 27
Summary
A May 27 comment letter from CfPA asks the U.S. Labor Department to make its proposed ERISA safe harbor more usable for retirement plans considering alternative assets.
The group backs the rule’s process-based, asset-neutral approach but wants objective criteria and documentation thresholds that fiduciaries can apply consistently.
CfPA proposed checklist-style standards—such as benchmarking, risk-adjusted return analysis, liquidity classification, written investment memos and use of qualified third-party advisers—to support a rebuttable presumption of prudence.
It also urged adding a seventh factor: whether an asset comes through an SEC-regulated pathway with standardized disclosures and federal oversight, citing Regulation Crowdfunding and Regulation A+.
CfPA said clearer standards would not endorse all private-market assets, but could cut litigation risk and support more disciplined access to evolving capital-market opportunities in retirement plans.