401(k)'s have a place but they are way too over sold and over hyped. Cash Flow banking strategy is way more powerful. When you fund that then get into the market and invest in things you know.
Equity is equity, whether it's in paper or hard assets doesn't matter. What's the difference in paying taxes when you withdraw capital gains from paper assets, or 1031 your way in real estate assets until you die, if you don't want to owe taxes on everything you've 1031' d?
Stocks are insane, retirement is a joke, cash is trash thanks to inflation. What's safe? I can save about $1,800 every two weeks. I just put it in a 9% Stablecoins account.