Who the Plan Sponsor Is

The plan sponsor is the employer, or a committee acting for the employer, that establishes and runs a 401(k) plan. The sponsor picks the recordkeeper, selects the investment lineup, and carries a fiduciary duty to act in the best interest of participants. In plain terms, the sponsor decides which funds you are allowed to buy with your retirement money.

That gatekeeper role is why plan sponsors matter more than most investors realize. If an asset class is not on the menu, the average participant cannot easily buy it inside the plan, regardless of whether it would be a good fit.

What Executive Order 14330 Changed

This is where Alexander Green’s ASI Fund presentation gets specific. Historically, 401(k) lineups were limited to mutual funds, target-date funds, and a handful of conventional options. Alternative assets like private equity, infrastructure funds, and real asset funds were effectively off the menu.

Executive Order 14330, signed in August 2025, directs the Department of Labor to clarify that plan fiduciaries may include professionally managed alternative-asset funds in 401(k) lineups. It does not mandate that any plan add them. It removes the regulatory uncertainty that made sponsors hesitate. For a closer read of the order itself, see our Executive Order 14330 explainer.

What That Means for You

The practical takeaway is that the decision still sits with your employer’s plan sponsor, not with you. If your plan adds an alternative-asset or AI infrastructure option, it will appear in your lineup. If it does not, you cannot force the issue inside the plan.

Green’s ASI Fund is an AI infrastructure vehicle aimed squarely at this newly opened channel, and the pitch leans on the idea that ordinary investors can now access assets once reserved for the wealthy. We break down the full offer in our ASI Fund review.

Ready to see the research? Click here to access Alexander Green’s reports.

NewsletterVetter is an independent publication. We receive compensation from some of the services we review through affiliate links. Nothing on this site is investment advice. Always do your own research.