Would you add crypto to your retirement portfolio?

Summary

Marketplace Morning Report: Detailed Summary Episode Title: Would you add crypto to your retirement portfolio?
Release Date: August 8, 2025
Host: David Brancaccio, Marketplace

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1. Adding Cryptocurrency to Retirement Portfolios

Timestamp: 01:09 - 02:28

Overview:
The episode opens with a discussion on the evolving landscape of retirement portfolios, specifically focusing on the potential inclusion of cryptocurrencies and other high-risk assets. David Brancaccio introduces the topic by highlighting a recent presidential order that could pave the way for such investments within tax-protected retirement accounts like 401(k)s and 403(b)s.

Key Points:

• Presidential Order Impact: The recent executive order signals a shift in policy, allowing fiduciaries to consider alternative investments, including cryptocurrencies, within retirement plans.

• Fiduciary Responsibilities: Richard Sayner, a spokesperson from Marketplace, emphasizes the fiduciary duty of retirement plan managers to act in the best interest of employees. Historically, this responsibility has limited exposure to volatile assets like crypto. Sayner notes, “Sponsored retirement plans legally have to act in the best interest of employees” (01:38).

• Administrative Stances: Under the Biden administration, fiduciaries were cautioned to "exercise extreme care around cryptocurrency." However, the Trump administration has reversed this stance, instructing the Labor Department to redefine its approach to alternative investments (01:50).

• Timeline for Changes: The executive order grants federal agencies a five-month period to reassess current regulations and propose new guidelines, meaning significant changes to retirement portfolios are not immediate (02:05).

Notable Quote:
“We're now opening an avenue to the trillions of dollars held in employee retirement accounts,” said Richard Sayner (01:55).

Implications:
If approved, this shift could democratize access to cryptocurrencies within retirement portfolios, offering employees a broader range of investment options. However, the lag in regulatory changes means that widespread adoption may take time.

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2. Pharmaceutical Manufacturing and U.S. Import Policies

Timestamp: 02:28 - 03:51

Overview:
Shifting focus to the pharmaceutical industry, the report examines the Trump administration's efforts to repatriate drug manufacturing to the United States in response to tariffs imposed on Switzerland. Liana Byrne reports on statements from Sandoz, a major generic drug manufacturer.

Key Points:

• Tariffs and Manufacturing Decisions: The Trump administration imposed a 39% import tax on pharmaceuticals from Switzerland, aiming to incentivize domestic production. However, Richard Sayner, CEO of Sandoz, argues that tariffs alone are insufficient to relocate manufacturing operations to the U.S. (02:44).

• Economic Considerations: Sayner highlights the significant financial investment required to establish manufacturing facilities in the U.S., estimating costs in the hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars (03:04).

• Timeframe for Transition: Building new manufacturing plants is a lengthy process, often taking three to five years before becoming operational (03:08).

• Supply Chain Resilience: Despite the U.S. experiencing drug shortages during the pandemic due to reliance on overseas suppliers, Sandoz remains committed to its offshore operations, citing unsustainable costs and logistical challenges (03:20).

Notable Quotes:
“Tariffs alone won't convince the company to build factories there,” stated Richard Sayner (02:50).
“It can be a frequently three to five years,” added Henry Epp regarding the timeline for establishing U.S.-based manufacturing (03:08).

Implications:
The resistance from major generic drug manufacturers like Sandoz suggests that tariff measures may have limited effectiveness in reshoring pharmaceutical production. Comprehensive strategies beyond taxation may be necessary to achieve desired domestic manufacturing goals.

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3. Construction Industry Challenges Amid Tariffs and Interest Rates

Timestamp: 04:51 - 08:23

Overview:
In an in-depth interview, Liana Byrne converses with Maurice Roming, President of O'Neill Construction Group in Portland, Oregon. The discussion delves into how current tariffs and fluctuating interest rates are impacting the construction sector.

Key Points:

• Impact of Tariffs on Materials: Roming explains that tariffs on imported goods from key trade partners—Mexico, China, and Canada—are complicating the selection and budgeting of construction materials. For example, increased import taxes on commodities like copper and steel are making project costs unpredictable (05:11).

• Budgeting Uncertainty: The unpredictability of tariffs forces contractors to provide clients with cost ranges rather than exact figures, complicating budgeting processes for both commercial and residential projects (05:44).

• Commodity Price Monitoring: Roming likens his role to that of a mini commodities broker, actively tracking prices of essential materials such as copper wire to anticipate cost fluctuations (06:33).

• Interest Rate Pressures: With the average 30-year fixed home loan rates hovering between 6.5% and 7%, both residential and commercial construction markets are experiencing sluggishness. High borrowing costs are discouraging new projects and investments (07:11).

• Market Volatility: The construction industry is facing heightened volatility, with a seesaw effect between sluggish private sector activity and unpredictable public works projects. This uncertainty makes it challenging to forecast and plan for future projects (07:39).

• Risk Management: Roming emphasizes the importance of data-driven decision-making to navigate the myriad of uncertainties, from material costs to financing conditions (07:56).

Notable Quotes:
“So we have to think about how that's going to impact their budgets, their bottom line,” Roming explains regarding the influence of tariffs on project costs (05:11).
“We feel like, okay, there's not an effect yet, but it seems like it's hard to predict what happens today,” he adds about the inconsiderate nature of tariff impacts (05:34).
“There’s so many question marks out there that it makes it harder for people building a new house or a commercial project to give you the green light,” Roming comments on the broader economic uncertainty (07:56).

Implications:
Tariffs and rising interest rates are creating a challenging environment for the construction industry. Contractors must navigate increased material costs and financing barriers while managing client expectations amid economic unpredictability. These factors contribute to a more volatile and risk-laden market landscape.

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4. Rise in Financial Scams Targeting Older Adults

Timestamp: 08:23 - 08:59

Overview:
The report also touches on the alarming increase in financial scams, particularly targeting older adults. A recent analysis by the Federal Trade Commission highlights a significant rise in high-value losses among individuals over 60.

Key Points:

• Increase in High-Value Scam Victims: The number of people over 60 losing $100,000 or more to scams has surged eightfold between 2020 and 2024.

• Digital Vulnerabilities: With the pervasive use of electronic devices, scams have become more sophisticated and widespread, exploiting the digital habits of older adults.

• Broader Targeting: While older adults are particularly vulnerable, fraudsters are increasingly targeting individuals across all age groups.

Notable Statistic:
“People over 60 who lost $100,000 or more. That number was up eightfold between 2020 and the year 2024,” reported Liana Byrne (08:48).

Implications:
The significant rise in high-value financial scams underscores the need for enhanced protective measures for vulnerable populations. It also highlights the importance of education and awareness campaigns to combat the increasing sophistication of digital fraud tactics.

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Conclusion

This episode of Marketplace Morning Report provides a comprehensive overview of several pressing economic and business issues:

• Introducing Cryptocurrencies to Retirement Portfolios: A potential paradigm shift that could broaden investment options but requires careful regulatory oversight.

• Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Policies: Tariffs alone may not suffice to bring large-scale drug manufacturing back to the U.S., indicating a need for more nuanced policy measures.

• Construction Industry Challenges: Tariffs and rising interest rates are creating a volatile market environment, necessitating strategic planning and risk management.

• Financial Scams on the Rise: An alarming trend in high-value scams targeting older adults calls for increased vigilance and protective strategies.

These discussions offer valuable insights for investors, policymakers, business leaders, and the general public, highlighting the interconnectedness of global trade policies, market dynamics, and individual financial security.

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For more insights and updates, visit Marketplace Morning Report or listen to the full episode on your preferred podcast platform.

Transcript

[David Brancaccio]

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[Henry Epp]

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[Liana Byrne]

What can you throw into an official retirement portfolio? Maybe not the kitchen sink, but it soon could be riskier crypto assets I'm David Brancaccio in Los Angeles. Tax protected retirement savings could soon allow riskier assets to be included in the portfolio, such as cryptocurrency accounts or private equity investments in a 401k or 403b. The gears for this were set in motion by presidential order yesterday. Marketplaces Henry Epp reports managers of employer.

[Richard Sayner]

Sponsored retirement plans legally have to act in the best interest of employees. That's largely kept them from venturing into riskier investments like crypto. And just a few years ago, the Biden administration warned fiduciaries to, quote, exercise extreme care around cryptocurrency. The Trump administration nixed that guidance guidance earlier this year. Now Trump is directing the Labor Department to clarify its stance on alternative investments, including crypto, private equity, commodities and real estate. The move could be a boon for those industries, opening an avenue to the trillions of dollars held in employee retirement accounts. Changes won't happen immediately. The executive order gives federal agencies over five months to review current rules around alternative investments and suggest new ones. I'm Henry Apt for Marketplace.

[Liana Byrne]

The CEO of generic drug maker Sandoz, based in Basel, says the Trump administration's import taxes 39% for Switzerland will not be enough to bring manufacturing of medicines back to US Soil. Leanna Byrne, Marketplace BBC has more President.

[David Brancaccio]

Trump may want more pharmaceuticals made in America, but one of the world's biggest generic companies says that's not happening anytime soon. Sandoz essentially copies drugs where the patent has expired, it doesn't have a Mac. Massive presence in the US and the CEO Richard Sayner told the BBC, tariffs alone won't convince the company to build factories there.

[Henry Epp]

It's not a cheap thing to do. Hundreds of millions or billions of dollars, not a quick thing to do.

[Maurice Roming]

It can be frequently three to five years.

[Henry Epp]

Our conversations with the administration, with Congress, it is okay. How are you going to change the.

[Maurice Roming]

Environment to make what is in theory an incredibly exciting market much more attractive?

[David Brancaccio]

Of course, the US saw firsthand during the pandemic how relying on overseas suppliers can lead to shortages in vaccines. But for now, sand is staying offshore, despite Washington's pressure to bring production Home. I'm the BBC's Liana Byrne for Marketplace.

[Liana Byrne]

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[Henry Epp]

And now a next level moment from AT&T business. Say you've sent out a gigantic shipment of pillows and they need to be there in time for international. You've got AT and T5G so you're fully confident, but the vendor isn't responding. And International Sleep Day is tomorrow. Luckily, AT&T 5G lets you deal with any issues with ease. So the pillows will get delivered and everyone can sleep soundly, especially you. AT&T 5G requires a compatible plan and device coverage not available everywhere. Learn [e-mail] 5G Network.

[Liana Byrne]

This week we've been catching up with a building contractor in Portland, Oregon, who does commercial and residential products to take his economic pulse. Maurice Romming is the president of o' Neill Construction Group. Thank you for joining us.

[Maurice Roming]

Well, thank you for having me, David. I appreciate it.

[Liana Byrne]

When you're estimating jobs right now, how are you thinking about tariffs?

[Maurice Roming]

Well, so one of the things that we're thinking about, right, our three biggest trade partners are Mexico, China and Canada. And so as we look at products that we're trying to select for our customers, we have to think, think about how that's going to impact their budgets, their bottom line. So it's, it's hugely challenging.

[Liana Byrne]

Yeah. Like if you're buying a bunch of Lighting fixtures for a commercial property. Right. You got to know what the added import tax is going to be.

[Maurice Roming]

Yeah. And it, it's one of the things that we're finding is that we're having to kind of give our customers responses. That makes it harder for them to budget where we feel like, okay, there's not an effect yet, but, you know, it seems like it's hard to predict what happens today. Is that going to be consistent over the next three weeks, three months, three years?

[Liana Byrne]

Oh, so you give people like a range. You're saying, look, if it was today, it would be this, but we have to put a fudge factor in.

[Maurice Roming]

You got it. Exactly. So we don't like to surprise any project with costs that they could not anticipate. So we do try to let them know that, hey, look, some of these areas unknown for stuff like what I.

[Liana Byrne]

Mean, I suppose drywall from Mexico.

[Maurice Roming]

Yeah. Copper, steel, commodities. Yeah. I kind of feel like a little bit of a mini commodities broker as I look at, to see where copper prices. I know over the last a while now we've been kind of monitoring that because there's so much copper wire.

[Liana Byrne]

Let's talk about interest rates. People borrow to build things, both commercial and residential. The average 30 year fixed rate home loan has been in the range of 6.5% to just over 7% since last fall. That seems moderately high to many people. That must play out as people do the math on whether or not they can build with you.

[Maurice Roming]

Yeah. And so on the residential side, it's extremely sluggish. What we've seen in the past is when the residential and the commercial markets on the private side are sluggish, it's kind of a seesaw effect where there would be more public works projects occurring because of the uncertainty with the public sector. What we're seeing is just a huge amount of volatility in our industry.

[Liana Byrne]

So, Maurice, you're saying there's just, there's so many question marks out there that it makes it harder for, you know, people building a new house for themselves or a commercial project for them to give you the green light. They're just not quite sure if they can afford.

[Maurice Roming]

Exactly. And one of the things is that we, we usually use data to base all our decisions. Right. Because there are so many different variations. There's a lot more risk built into what we do. There's so many different unknowns.

[Liana Byrne]

Maurice Raming is the president of O' Neill Construction Group in Portland, Oregon. Mr. Roming, thank you for this.

[Maurice Roming]

Thank you, David, for having me And.

[Liana Byrne]

A follow up on our discussion yesterday here on the pervasiveness of financial scams involving one way or another, all of our electronic devices. New data on targeting of older adults from the Federal Trade Commission. Fraudsters target all ages, right? But one piece of this a new analysis finds people over 60 who lost $100,000 or more. That number was up Eightfold between 2020 and the year 2024. In Los Angeles, I'm David Brancaccio. You're listening to the Marketplace Morning report from apm, American Public Media.

[David Brancaccio]

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