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Matthias Knab, Opalesque for New Managers: Professional services firm Marsh (NYSE: MRSH) has agreed to acquire Wilshire, the investment consulting, solutions and analytics firm serving institutional investors and financial intermediaries. Financial terms were not disclosed. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2027, subject to customary closing conditions, regulatory approvals and client consents.
Wilshire manages USD221 billion and advises on more than USD1.6 trillion in assets, both as of June 30, 2026. Founded in 1972 as an index and risk analytics provider, the firm has since grown into a diversified investment services business. It combines multi-asset advice and solutions, alternative investment capabilities and indexes with proprietary data, technology and analytics.
A push into advisor-led wealth
For Marsh, the transaction extends its investments business into the advisor-led wealth segment. It also adds analytics and alternative investment capabilities, and strengthens what Marsh offers institutional investors, including public and private retirement plans, endowments and foundations.
Marsh President and CEO John Doyle described the deal as an important step in growing the investments business and deepening its ties to the financial advisor ecosystem. In his view, combining Wilshire with Marsh's global reach, open architecture and public and private markets expertise will help clients build "resilient portfolios in an increasingly complex investment environment."
Pat Tomlinson, President and CEO of Marsh People and Investments, said Marsh has spent the past decade building a platform that serves institutional investors and wealth clients. According to Tomlinson, Wilshire will add scale and capabilities to that platform for wealth advisors and asset managers, particularly in alternatives, model portfolios, and data and analytics.
Wilshire CEO Jason Schwarz pointed to the firm's more than five decades of building institutional-quality investment capabilities for institutional, wealth and retirement clients. He said joining Marsh will allow Wilshire to extend its platform, broaden its capabilities and serve clients across the investment value chain.
Wilshire's staff in its offices across the United States, Europe and Asia will join Marsh when the transaction completes.
Part of a wider build-out
The announcement follows Marsh's completion last week of its acquisition of AltamarCAM, a private markets asset manager and solutions provider serving institutional and wealth clients across Europe and Latin America. Days earlier, Marsh launched Marsh BrightPath, a coordinated defined contribution retirement solution spanning six markets with USD116 billion in assets under management. Taken together, the moves signal a deliberate expansion of Marsh's investments franchise into private markets, retirement and wealth.
Marsh advises clients in 130 countries and reports annual revenue of USD27 billion, with more than 95,000 colleagues.
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