The U.S. investors can soon get more to invest in asset classes such as private credit and cryptocurrencies as the U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration and the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) drive toward open markets, an element that certain investment advisors contend loads too much responsibility on individuals to safeguard themselves.
The White House, as well as the SEC under Chair Paul Atkins have warmed up to provide investors with greater options so as to access some of the asset classes that may provide high returns.
Yet, some financial advisors warn clients, who are mostly stock and bond investors, that they might not be able to imagine the sheer number of new offerings already being delivered to the market that market analysts expect to rise by 2026.
A founder of VIP Wealth Advisors in Decatur, Georgia, Mark Stancato, a registered investment advisor, said that “Something negative will happen, and people will say, wait, I didn’t realize the risk I was taking.”
He is concerned that investors will not be able to make meaningful decisions, especially when it comes to the assessment of their retirement funds. The SEC and the White House responded that they are still concerned with investor protection.
A spokeswoman of White House, Taylor Rogers, stated that “Chairman Atkins is committed to ensuring the SEC maintains fair, orderly, and efficient markets while protecting everyday investors, citing that the U.S. remained the “best and most secure place” to invest.
According to an SEC spokesperson, the agency is concerned with ensuring that investors have access to “robust information to make informed decisions” on all new products.
In a speech made in September, Atkins stated that introducing access to privately held assets comes with the requirement of corresponding guardrails.
The Department of Labor’s spokesman stated that it will develop regulations and policies on the best practices in the provision of private assets and other options to retirement investors.
The Trump administration said in August that it would provide individual investors easier access to investment programs such as private credit and private equity, and request the Secretary of Labor, who regulates retirement plans, to consult with other agencies such as the SEC within six months.
Atkins stated in November that conventional retirement funds like target date funds do not expose themselves to these assets, and this is a disadvantage to investors.
Currently, 401(k) and other retirement plans offer exposure to publicly-traded assets such as stocks and bonds via mutual funds or ETFs.
Making investing in either private equity or private credit open will offer some benefits of diversification, but will also lead to questions of how to value those investments, their liquidity, and the quality of choice of which individual investors will be exposed.
The SEC is also contributing to making cryptocurrencies more accessible to investors by expediting the creation of new ETFs by issuing generic listing standards in September, eliminating a barrier to the introduction of spot ETFs based on cryptocurrencies.
A financial planner with Delagify Financial in Arvada, Colorado, Robert Persichitte, reported that new offerings would increase the risk of retail investors, who he said had the most to lose and the least knowledge about evaluating the risks of new or complex products.
Persichitte added that “The little guy… doesn’t have a team of advisors on their side.”
Data from Morningstar shows an increase in new crypto ETFs since the generic listings’ standards were launched in September, with Bitwise Asset Management recently estimating another hundred could launch next year.
There has also been an increase in interval funds, which are a type of closed-end fund that invests in private assets, which are considered to be helped by the opening up of retirement plans.
An analyst at Morningstar, Bryan Armour, said that “I expect an influx of funds that hold private assets in 2026.” Although ETFs, interval funds, or target date mutual funds are not an undue risk in their own right, the risk is defined by the underlying asset.
However, some in the market said that opening up choices would benefit investors. Duncan Moir, president of 21Shares, which has launched six crypto ETFs in recent months, said crypto has “a meaningful role to play in investor portfolios.”
A Founding Partner at Crypto Asset Management firm Hashdex, Bruno Sousa reported that capital markets work by giving people “the information they need to make free, well-informed decisions.”
