---
title: "Beyond the Perimeter: Retirement Plans, Deregulation & Fiduciary Risk"
description: A deep dive into how DC plans are moving into CITs, private markets, and alternative investments—and what that means for fiduciary duty, participant protection, and retirement outcomes.
image: https://www.multnomahgroup.com/hubfs/Beyond%20the%20Perimeter%20Cover-1.jpg
---

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# Beyond the Perimeter: How Retirement Plans Are Re‑Entering a Deregulated Marketplace

Plan Sponsor guide

##  As defined contribution plans evolve, more participant assets are quietly moving outside the most robust investor‑protection frameworks, often without participants realizing it. In this extensive resource, Erik Daley examines how retirement plans are re‑entering the edges of a deregulated marketplace through collective investment trusts (CITs), private equity, private credit, insurance structures, and other non‑traditional vehicles, and what that shift means for fiduciaries, participants, and the retirement system itself.

[![FREE DOWNLOAD Explore the full resource, no registration required. Understand how retirement plans are drifting beyond traditional investor protections, and what fiduciaries can do to respond thoughtfully, defensibly, and in the best interest of participants.  ](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/309123/interactive-209241991972.png) ](https://www.multnomahgroup.com/hs/cta/wi/redirect?encryptedPayload=AVxigLKCRoIB1tfo4qj7a8xOMH0M5cOY1xj2cRkL3S9MGJPcsI9aBsAOxB8PQ%2BpboqA%2Fa0nYKrBuxcCqUKbUosh9KNEvyXye77J4Nl40c71s1UrascumqcOvfQi8dlICy%2Bsq4VLssFQCa7Pvrnclq5IN2jBsEizTCqoNNOw%2BjIqhGMzdmopXOta5CSWYiHB%2FasWoX4UfrS8wtAQATKqub22TINUUCeE6FtfS%2B9UlYFv%2B1r0Ynb%2B%2B9XTHc1d0gdsxUQX0h2DhqsSypZ4xs8JVQaTYr6QLkL%2Fg3nSScaMSYelsmOt1HSpIJ%2FWy3gidAvFzyhw4966PItufgmMxNbLDwML%2Bikrd5V%2F0qv%2BQ07b73XiW02u%2F4zPhtx4%3D&webInteractiveContentId=209241991972&portalId=309123)

For plan sponsors, investment committees, and advisors, the question is no longer whether innovation belongs in DC plans, but how much complexity participants can reasonably bear, and what protections are being traded away in the process.

## Beyond the Perimeter provides a clear, practical examination of:

- **The regulatory perimeter**  
  How investor protections were designed—and where they stop
- **CITs vs. mutual funds**  
  When fee optimization becomes a governance tradeoff
- **Private equity and private credit in DC plans**  
  What the DOL’s evolving guidance really allows—and what it demands
- **Insurance, stable value, and lifetime income products**  
  How protection profiles differ from 1940 Act funds
- **Crypto and other edge‑of‑perimeter assets**  
  Why “neutral” regulatory posture still means high fiduciary risk
- **A fiduciary risk map**  
  Where participant harm, litigation, and system‑level risks can emerge
- **A practical evaluation framework**  
  A repeatable way to assess non‑40 Act and private‑market products
- **Policy and industry recommendations**  
  How innovation can continue—without surprising participants

[Download our in-depth resource](https://www.multnomahgroup.com/hubfs/PDF_Files/Guides/Guide_Beyond%20The%20Perimeter_How%20Retirement%20Plans%20Are%20Re%E2%80%90Entering%20a%20Deregulated%20Marketplace.pdf) to understand the risks, tradeoffs, and guardrails every fiduciary should be considering.

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Multnomah Group is a registered investment adviser registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Any information contained herein or on Multnomah Group’s website is provided for educational purposes only and does not intend to make an offer or solicitation for the sale or purchase of any specific securities, investments, or investment strategies. Investments involve risk and, unless otherwise stated, are not guaranteed. Multnomah Group does not provide legal or tax advice.

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