Mutual funds and ETFs are for losers, says Rich Dad Poor Dad author Robert Kiyosaki. Here's why

Robert Kiyosaki, author of the personal finance bestseller Rich Dad Poor Dad, said on Wednesday that a recent executive order signed by U.S. President Donald Trump “democratising access to alternative investments for 401k investors” will make his favoured assets, gold, silver and Bitcoin, more valuable.

“BIG NEWS: According to friend Andy Schectman….on August 7, 2025….President Trump signed an Executive Order ‘Democratizing Access to Alternative Investments for 401k Investors,” Kiyosaki posted on X, formerly Twitter.

Alternative assets under 401(k) umbrella

Kiyosaki, who has long criticised traditional investment vehicles, wrote: “As some of you know, I do not invest in mutual funds or ETFS. To me, Mutual funds and ETFS are for ‘losers.’”

The order, he said, “opens the door for ‘smarter’ more ‘sophisticated investors’ to add alternative investments such as real estate, private equity and debt, crypto, and precious metals, under a 401 k tax umbrella.”

While Kiyosaki welcomed the change, he cautioned that “Trump’s new XO means investors be smarter and wiser. If you are not willing to ‘study’ and do your ‘homework’ it is best mom and pop investors stick with ‘vanilla’ mutual funds and ETFS.”

Gold, silver, Bitcoin

The financial educator, a long-time advocate of hard assets and digital currencies, said he was “happy because Trump's new XO treats investors like ‘adults’ and makes my gold, silver, and Bitcoin more valuable.” He credited his friend Andy Schectman for the “heads up.”

Kiyosaki’s latest remarks follow his August comments that he would double his Bitcoin holdings if the so-called “Bitcoin August Curse” pushed the cryptocurrency below $90,000. At the time, he argued that market weakness stemmed not from Bitcoin but from “our multi trillion dollar debt and incompetent PhDs running ‘the SWAMP’, the Fed and our Treasury.”

Trump’s executive order marks a significant policy change for retirement savings in the U.S., potentially expanding access to asset classes that were previously restricted to institutions and accredited investors.

Also read | With gold prices at record highs, are gold loan lenders a better bet for your portfolio than jewellery makers?

On Wednesday, gold traded at $3,690.32 per ounce after breaching $3,700 for the first time on Tuesday. Cryptocurrency Bitcoin gained nearly 1% in the past one day to trade at $116,364. Elsewhere, spot silver slipped 1.3% to $41.98 per ounce.

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