DOL Safe Harbor Proposal Offers Fiduciaries a Roadmap for Evaluating Alternative Investments in 401(k) Plans, Financial Advisor Magazine
May 21, 2026Financial Advisor Magazine covered a Morgan Lewis webinar featuring partners Elizabeth Goldberg and Mana Behbin on the US Department of Labor’s proposed safe harbor framework for selecting designated investment alternatives in participant-directed retirement plans and its potential implications for private-market investments in 401(k) plans.
The article highlighted Elizabeth’s discussion of the proposal’s process-oriented approach to fiduciary decision-making and its emphasis on the use of professional advisors when evaluating investment options. As Elizabeth noted, “The proposal has a real heavy focus on the role of professional advice.”
Mana offered analysis of the practical challenges that continue to limit private-market investments in defined contribution plans, despite the proposed framework. She explained that “The DOL created a better fiduciary framework, but it didn’t make traditional standalone private funds look like DC plan products,” noting that liquidity, valuation, benchmarking, fee transparency, and investor-eligibility requirements remain significant considerations. Discussing the types of investment vehicles that may be better suited for retirement plans, Mana added, “The closer the product looks like an existing retirement plan product, the easier the fiduciary case becomes.”