(Bloomberg) — US Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Paul Atkins says the agency will work closely with its counterparts at the Labor Department when considering potential changes to rules for retirement plans.
“We have to do this in a smart way,” Atkins said an interview Friday on Bloomberg Television’s Surveillance.
The Trump administration is finalizing an executive order that would pave the way for 401(k) retirement savings plans to invest in private equity, Bloomberg News reported earlier this week. Details are still being discussed and no date is set for an announcement, according to people familiar with the matter.
Read More: White House Readies Order to Bring Private Equity to 401(k)s
Many investors want access to private markets, but Atkins noted that the private markets are significantly different from public markets and the level of liquidity is not the same.
“Disclosure is key and that people need to know what they are getting into,” Atkins said when asked about whether crypto could be a part of retirement plans. “I look forward to whatever may come out from the president.”
Atkins took the helm of the Wall Street regulator in April, ushering in what he has repeatedly called “a new day at the SEC.” A long-time critic of onerous corporate disclosures and a booster of cryptocurrency, Atkins is expected to roll back several initiatives championed by his predecessor, Gary Gensler.
The SEC under Atkins has scrapped more than a dozen Biden-era proposalsincluding a plan to relax requirements for shareholders offering proposals at annual corporate meetings.
More changes are on the horizon. Atkins has signaled a desire to review rules requiring companies to disclose executive pay, narrowing the amount of information private fund advisers have to provide the SEC, and potentially allowing hedge funds to hold their own crypto.
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