The DOL’s proposed regulation on selecting investments, including alternative assets, 2026-06178.pdf, identifies six factors that should 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 those factors and provides 20 examples of their application. In earlier posts, I covered the first two factors—Performance and Fees, and their examples. In my last post Alternative Assets (15), I skipped to the sixth factor—Complexity.   This article looks at the first example under the Complexity factor.  As a refresher, here’s how the proposal describes that factor: (l) Complexity. The plan fiduciary must appropriately consider the complexity of the designated investment alternative and determine that it has the skills, knowledge, experience, and capacity to comprehend it sufficiently to discharge its obligations under ERISA and the governing plan documents or whether it must seek assistance from a qualified investment advice fiduciary, investment manager, or other individual. (The bolding in this article is mine…just to emphasize the points that I consider the most important.) The proposal then gives two examples about the application of the Complexity factor.