The DOL’s proposed regulation on selecting investments, including alternative assets, 2026-06178.pdf, identifies six factors that need to be considered in the process of selecting any investments for participant-directed plans, such as 401(k) plans and private sector 403(b) plans. The six factors are: Performance, Fees, Liquidity, Valuation, Performance Benchmark, and Complexity. The proposal describes each of the six factors and then provides examples to illustrate their  application. In my last post in this series– Alternative Assets (6), I discussed the first of those six factors—Performance, and the DOL’s description of the process for evaluating performance (or, more accurately, expected future returns). While not entirely clear, the description of the process could be viewed as one approach to satisfying the evaluation of the particular factor or it could be viewed as being the only way to satisfy the factor.  If the latter, it would require major changes to the processes of most plan sponsors and advisers.  Hopefully the final regulation will clarify the DOL’s intentions. This article discusses the first of the two examples about evaluating the Performance factor.  (It is also not clear if the examples are just illustrations of one approach to fiduciary prudence or whether the DOL contemplates that