Asset manager and investment consultant Russell Investments announced Thursday that it is changing hands.
A consortium of investors led by B Capital, a venture capital firm co-led by Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin, will acquire the Seattle-based business from its current owners, TA Associates and Reverence Capital Partners, according to a statement.
The consortium of buyers includes the California Public Employees’ Retirement System.
Russell Investments, which has over $416 billion in AUM, is a provider of outsourced chief investment officer services, mutual funds and separately managed accounts across several asset classes, including stocks and bonds, PE and real assets.
Its acquisition is the latest example of VC entering the asset management industry, driven by a plan to boost thin margins using technology.
“This team has the expertise, institutional credibility and vision to transform the industry. What they haven’t had, until now, is the backing to fully accelerate what comes next,” wrote Raj Ganguly, co-CEO of B Capital.
He added that technology could “fundamentally transform” asset management and deliver better outcomes for the many people who are “systematically underadvised” as they save for retirement.
Russell plans to use the new capital to expand its “open architecture” model, where the firm works with fund managers at outside firms to create customized portfolios for clients, backed by new technology and analytics.
“The model we have is hugely scalable,” Zach Buchwald, CEO of Russell Investments, told PitchBook. “It’s not changing. What is changing is how we can deliver it and at what size and scale.”
Buchwald said the new ownership will help the firm scale its portfolio construction interface and its reporting and analytics platform, called METRiQ.
“We want that to be up on all of our clients’ desktops,” Buchwald said.
Thursday’s deal marks one of several ownership changes at the company since 2014, when it was bought by the London Stock Exchange Group. LSEG retained Russell’s index business and divested its money-management and consulting arm to TA Associates and Reverence Capital Partners in 2016 in a deal valued at $1.15 billion.
The latest transaction values Russell Investments at $2.8 billion, Bloomberg reported. Russell would not confirm the valuation.
Global PE-backed investments in asset managers hit $27.6 billion in 2025, up 26.4% from 2024 and hitting the highest level since 2020, S&P Global data shows.
Declining margins, rising technology and AI costs, and mounting competition for capital have triggered a wave of M&A among asset managers.
