'Everybody—all the asset managers—are trying to pick CIT dance partners so that they can have product in 401(k) plans,' said Chris Randall at SEI Trust Company. CITs—less regulated, cheaper, and more easily-customized than mutual funds—now house 42% of 401(k) investments.

Australia's mandatory defined contribution retirement savings system is "a 'good' system that has 'worked out well' for Australia, the president said from the Roosevelt Room. Mr. Trump is flanked by House Speaker Mike Johnson (left) and billionaire Michael Dell, a donor to 'Trump Accounts.'

An indexed universal life policy demands about as little maintenance as an eight-cylinder, 750-horsepower, 200-mph NASCAR stock car. And in the hands of an unskilled, or untrustworthy driver, or pit crew, such a policy can crash and burn.