Robo 401(k) provider ForUsAll has teamed up with cryptocurrency index provider CoinDesk Indices to allow 401(k) participants to invest in the cryptocurrencies of a relatively new crypto-based index.
The CoinDesk Market Select index is the first such index available on a 401(k) platform in the United States, ForUsAll said in a news release Thursday.
It is made up of 28 cyptocurrencies, including bitcoin, ethereum and solana, and will be part of ForUsAll's Alt401(k) cryptocurrency brokerage window, which the company launched in June.
The constituents of the index will roll out gradually over the next two months, with all 28 expected to be available in the company's crypto brokerage window by the end of the second quarter, said David Ramirez, the company's CEO.
ForUsAll is also planning to allow participants to buy the index itself, a feature that Mr. Ramirez expects will be available later this year.
Mr. Ramirez said the new crypto options will allow plan participants to get more diversified exposure to the blockchain industry overall.
"We're clearly believers that portfolios need to be diversified, and that even if you have exposure to an asset class, diversification is still important within that asset class, especially when you're looking at some things that are new, potentially transformative, emerging technologies," Mr. Ramirez said.
Mr. Ramirez has been pushing for cryptocurrency in 401(k) plans even as regulators have warned employers about the dangers of including the highly speculative asset class in 401(k) plans.
The company was the first to offer crypto options within the self-directed brokerage windows in retirement plans, where employers do not assume the same type of fiduciary exposure as they would were they to offer the investments in their core 401(k) menus.
"Our belief is that this crypto window was really designed for sophisticated self-directed investors who have the knowledge and capability to make their own investment decisions," Mr. Ramirez said.
CoinDesk Indices is a subsidiary of the cryptocurrency news site CoinDesk.