An investor consortium including the US pension fund CalPERS has agreed to buy Russell Investments, according to an announcement from the asset manager today.
The consortium is led by B Capital and will buy Russell from TA Associates and Reverence Capital Partners.
According to IPE’s 2026 Top 500 Asset Managers ranking, Russell is ranked 87th globally with €320.9bn in assets under management, and 43rd in terms of European institutional assets with €58.7bn.
CalPERS’ deputy chief investment officer Anton Orlich said Russell had built a trusted global franchise “grounded in investment excellence and client service”.
“We believe the partnership and shared vision of Russell Investments and the Investor Consortium create a compelling opportunity to build a next-generation asset manager,” he added.
“We look forward to supporting the business as it expands access to innovative investment solutions, accelerates growth, and helps shape the future of investing.”
Russell’s plan is to use the backing of the investor consortium to extend the asset manager’s open architecture approach to more investors through technology, greater customisation, analytics, and increased access.
It also said it saw “significant runway” across its key businesses: institutional outsourcing, portfolio implementation, personalised solutions and model portfolios, tax-managed investing, and self-directed investing through a multi-manager framework.
Speaking to IPE recently, Russell Investments president and CIO Kate El-Hillow said the firm wanted to leverage its open architecture, custom implementation model to continue to expand its client base among different types of institutional investors, and to help clients navigate changing market scenarios more dynamically.
Russell is expected to continue to operate independently under its existing leadership team, led by chair and chief executive officer Zach Buchwald, and El-Hillow.
It said its investment professionals and client teams will remain unchanged.
The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2027, subject to the receipt of regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.
