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The Retirement Revolution Has Begun: Alternatives Are Coming to Your 401(k)


401(k) alternative investments

For decades, 401(k) plans were limited to a familiar menu: stocks, bonds, and mutual funds. But that model is being disrupted.


The White House is preparing an executive order that would expand the list of eligible 401(k) investments to include alternative assets - think private credit, infrastructure, gold, and even crypto. Goldman Sachs is already stepping in, launching a private credit CIT (collective investment trust) designed for retirement plans by the end of 2025.


This is more than a regulatory shift. It’s a signal that the future of retirement investing will look very different.


Why This Matters:


The U.S. retirement market is massive—over $9 trillion in 401(k) assets alone. Until now, the average investor’s access to private markets has been limited by:

  • High minimums

  • Lack of liquidity

  • Complex due diligence requirements

  • Opaque pricing


That’s all changing.


Policy and product innovation are converging. CIT structures, tokenized assets, and interval/tender offer funds are making alternatives more accessible and administratively feasible for plan sponsors. But accessibility isn’t the same as suitability. And that’s where the next generation of platforms needs to step in.


AI That Powers Intelligent Access to Alts:


Taurion is built for this moment.


As the next-gen agentic AI platform for private markets, Taurion gives advisors, asset managers, and platforms the ability to intelligently match retirement clients to appropriate alternative investments, based on:

  • Real-time suitability modeling: considering risk tolerance, liquidity needs, and horizon

  • Fund discovery with embedded due diligence: streamlined for advisor workflows

  • ·Compliance-aligned automation: ensuring that advisors can document rationale, suitability, and process in one click

  • Multi-product matching: enabling advisors to compare public and private investment solutions side by side


The result? A retirement experience where advisors can personalize portfolios with the same precision and control they bring to traditional assets, without needing a PE desk.

Use Case: A Plan Advisor in 2026:


Let’s imagine a retirement plan advisor serving a small business with a $40M plan. After the rule change:

  1. The advisor logs into Taurion.

  2. They see private credit CITs, yield-focused infrastructure funds, and tokenized real estate options now available for retirement allocations.

  3. They create client cohorts by age, risk, and liquidity preference.

  4. Taurion generates tailored suitability summaries and fund matches, complete with educational overlays and compliance outputs.

  5. Plan sponsors and participants gain exposure to high-quality alternatives without friction.


What This Unlocks:


  • Advisors can offer differentiated strategies to retirement clients.

  • Fund managers can distribute alternative products efficiently, at scale.

  • Plan sponsors gain tools to modernize their investment menus.

  • Investors get access to historically exclusive return sources—now in tax-advantaged accounts.


Final Thoughts:


Opening 401(k)s to alternatives is the biggest shift in retirement investing in decades. But this shift brings opportunity and responsibility. Advisors and sponsors must ensure suitability, transparency, and compliance without adding unnecessary friction. That is exactly what Taurion is designed to solve, because democratizing access means nothing if we don’t also democratize intelligence.


Let’s talk if you're building retirement-focused alts, advising 401(k) plans, or helping clients navigate this next frontier. Taurion is in early access, and we’re partnering with forward-thinking RIAs and fund sponsors.




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