50 Companies Live With ForUsAll’s Retirement Platform Delivering Crypto To 401(k)
The first of its kind technology, the Alt401(k) platform prioritizes access and education to help participants diversify their retirement portfolio with cryptocurrency.
SAN FRANCISCO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#crypto401k-ForUsAll, a leading small business retirement provider, announced today that 50 companies live with Alt401(k), its retirement platform that gives employees the freedom to invest portions of their 401(k) in potentially higher growth opportunities like cryptocurrency alongside traditional 401( k) mutual funds. ForUsAll is the first to deliver crypto in 401(k).
More than 50 of ForUsAll’s clients have enabled access to cryptocurrency investments for participants, with over 100 more expected to go live in the coming weeks. Leading companies such as Stacks Foundation, Compass Mining, NuHire and BOND are among the companies that have made Alt401(k) available to their employees.
“We believe in giving our employees every opportunity available to save for their financial future, and Alt401(k) from ForUsAll gives them the tools to do just that,” said Brittany Laughlin, executive director of the Stacks Foundation. “We believe cryptocurrency and blockchain technology have great potential for the future.”
“Our team is privileged to help grow some of the most cutting-edge blockchain startups in the world,” said Ashton Wood, founder of NuHire Group. “We see first-hand the innovations coming to the financial sector and owe it to our employees to ensure easy access to the finance of the future.”
ForUsAll’s Alt401(k) retirement platform provides a simple menu of affordable mutual funds along with self-directed windows that allow employees to seek additional growth opportunities in the broader universe of stocks, ETFs, bonds and now cryptocurrency.
“Despite the recent downturn, cryptocurrency has been one of the fastest-growing asset classes over the past decade because it’s the dominant way people invest in blockchain technology,” said David Ramirez, ForUsAll’s CEO and co-founder. “95% of Fortune 500 companies surveyed are exploring blockchain technology, as are nearly 100 central banks – the potential for widespread adoption is significant. Ordinary Americans should not be left out.”
How it works:
- Self-managed growth windows: Through Alt401(k), employers can provide employees with additional opportunities for diversification and potential growth by adding self-directed windows alongside traditional mutual funds. Participants can choose to invest in the core menu of traditional funds or seek additional potential growth or diversification by investing in individual stocks, bonds, ETFs or cryptocurrencies.
- 5% Crypto Cap: Employees can transfer up to 5% of their balance and ongoing contributions to a secure account that includes access to secure cryptocurrencies (eg Bitcoin, Etherium, Solana, etc.)
- Risk monitoring: ForUsAll closely monitors crypto allocations, notifying employees when their combined cryptocurrency allocation exceeds 5% of their portfolio, making it easy to rebalance.
- Hard-wired investor protection: Risk-focused employee training, robust risk disclosures and a quiz employees must pass, demonstrating that they understand the risks.
- Employer’s trust protection: By providing access to more options via self-directed windows, employers preserve flexibility and employee choice while avoiding fiduciary risks typically associated with adding more sophisticated options to the core 401(k).
Built-in investor protection
As with any volatile asset, it is critical to ensure employees have an understanding of the inherent risks, and ForUsAll has proactive investor protection and education hardwired into Alt401(k). Before employees can access the crypto window, they must first acknowledge extensive risk disclosures and then pass a quiz.
“We spent a lot of time balancing the needs of sophisticated employees who demand the freedom to invest as they see fit, with much-needed protection for less savvy employees,” said Jeff Schulte, Chief Product Officer. “We were concerned that some might not be able to read the risk disclosures, a pop quiz helps ensure that only staff who understand the risks are given access.”
Once employees pass the quiz, they can transfer up to 5% of their current balance and 5% of ongoing contributions to the crypto window.
The crypto window contains a curated list of cryptocurrencies (such as Bitcoin, Etherium and Solana, etc.) that make it through a robust and rigorous screening process designed to exclude assets with a higher risk of fraud. As digital assets continue to gain widespread adoption among wealthy Americans and institutional investors, ForUsAll agrees with President Biden’s recent order that it is important for ordinary Americans to also have the opportunity to share in the benefits of this transformative technology. As the executive order stated: “The United States also has an interest in ensuring that the benefits of financial innovation are enjoyed fairly by all Americans and that any disparate impact of financial innovation is reduced.”
“Our mission has always been to democratize access to quality institutional investments so that every American has a fair chance to build wealth,” Ramirez said. “Fidelity, Goldman Sachs, BlackRock and many more are now offering cryptocurrency to their high net worth and institutional clients. Everyday Americans simply deserve equal access.”
For more information about ForUsAll, visit www.forusall.com.
About For UsAll
ForUsAll is a technology-enabled 401(k) provider pioneering the inclusion of cryptocurrency in retirement plans. Founded in 2012 by the same team that helped build Financial Engines, the largest registered investment advisor in the country, ForUsAll aims to give ordinary Americans the tools they need to build a brighter financial future. With $1.4B in assets under management, ForUsAll serves more than 80,000 retirement savers across over 500 plans and is trusted by companies that insist on a 401(k) experience that their employees will love.
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