Marsh agrees to buy Wilshire, adding $221 billion in assets

Marsh agreed to buy Wilshire, the investment consultant and analytics firm that manages $221 billion. The deal folds manager research and outsourced CIO work into the professional-services group's investments business.

Financial terms were not disclosed. Marsh expects the transaction to close in the first quarter of 2027, subject to regulatory approvals and client consents, Opalesque reported on Nov. 10.

Wilshire's institutional clients—public and private retirement plans, endowments and foundations—must consent before the deal closes. A foundation using Wilshire for manager research or a discretionary mandate must decide whether to keep the contract under a parent that also builds model portfolios, or reopen the search. The decision sits with the client, not the buyer.

Wilshire manages $221 billion and advises on more than $1.6 trillion, both as of June 30, 2026, according to Opalesque. Its Form ADV filed with the SEC on Nov. 4 lists $149.1 billion in regulatory assets, 307 employees and 650,319 accounts, reported on a different basis from the $221 billion figure. Wilshire was founded in 1972 as an index and risk analytics provider and now combines multi-asset advice and solutions, alternative investment capabilities and indexes with proprietary data, technology and analytics.

Marsh President and CEO John Doyle said the deal grows the investments business and deepens ties to the financial advisor ecosystem, and will help clients build "resilient portfolios in an increasingly complex investment environment."

Pat Tomlinson, president and CEO of Marsh People and Investments, said Wilshire adds scale and capabilities for wealth advisors and asset managers in alternatives, model portfolios, and data and analytics. Wilshire CEO Jason Schwarz said joining Marsh will let the firm extend its platform and serve clients across the investment value chain.

The agreement follows Marsh's completion last week of its purchase of AltamarCAM, a private markets asset manager serving institutional and wealth clients in Europe and Latin America. Days earlier, Marsh launched Marsh BrightPath, a defined contribution retirement solution spanning six markets with $116 billion in assets.

The buildout is running alongside a softer result in Marsh's reinsurance broking arm, where revenue fell 6% to $374 million while group revenue rose 8% to $6.9 billion, as Alternatives previously reported.

The first quarter of 2027 is the deadline for both regulatory approval and client consent. Wilshire's staff in offices across the United States, Europe and Asia will join Marsh when the transaction completes.