Crypto in a 401(k)? Plan company says its a 'proper' part of diversified portfolio

AlexSava/E+ via Getty Images Jeff Schulte, CEO of 401(k) plan provider ForUsAll, said Thursday that a new service allowing workers to invest up to 5% of their 401(k) savings in cryptocurrency will allow "proper" diversification of retirement funds. In an interview with CNBC, Schulte, who partnered with Coinbase (COIN) on the new crypto plan, argued that this kind of 401(k) investing only lets regular workers use the same techniques as larger investors. He pointed out that large investors, like fund managers and endowments like Harvard and Yale, already hold cryptocurrencies in their portfolios. The plans offered by ForUsAll would allow participants to invest up to 5% of their retirement funds in cryptos. Schulte said the program included up to 50 different tokens. Calling the turn toward Bitcoin (BTC-USD), Ethereum (ETH-USD), and other cryptos a "huge sea change," Schulte described the program as a way to inject diversification into retirement portfolios.