iCapital agreed to buy Hexure, Morningstar examined liquidity design for private assets, Fidelity introduced private markets model portfolios and education resources, Direxion-backed research tracked a rise in leveraged funds, iAltA acquired Delio, Schwab completed its Forge Global acquisition, Teucrium hired Maital Legum to lead ETF solutions, William Blair published views on growth investing, HFR reported another month of hedge fund gains, Gridline launched an AI diligence tool, AdvisorEngine introduced a TAMP and Envestnet added interval funds to its UMA.
Editor in Chief's Take:
While we cover M&A every week in our Deals & Recruiting Roundup, the investment news of the past month highlights how M&A is a key tool investment firms are using to bolt on capabilities quickly. iCapital, iAltA and Schwab all announced acquisitions that add capabilities in specialized areas rapidly, as opposed to building them out through internal development. Industry shifts are accelerating, placing a premium on the speed that acquisitions deliver. But speed heightens risk, so buyers should exercise caution.
– Julius Buchanan, Editor in Chief, Wealth Solutions Report
iCapital Moves Deeper Into Insurance Tech
iCapital said it agreed to acquire Hexure, an annuity and insurance technology firm, in a deal expected to close in the second quarter of 2026. The buyer said the transaction will help it build an end-to-end annuity and insurance technology platform connected to its alternatives and structured investments platform, extending its role in insurance-related advisor workflows.
The company said it will add Hexure’s FireLight digital sales platform and ForeSight illustration technology to its own offering, expanding annuity and life-insurance support. It also said Hexure will continue operating globally, including in the U.S. and India, and that there are no immediate changes to the Hexure executive team as integration begins.
Lawrence Calcano, CEO and Chairman of iCapital, said, “iCapital offers the integrated technology platform that serves as an operating system for alternative investments, structured investments, and annuities—supported by world-class infrastructure and informed by deep insights and data intelligence.” He added, “With Hexure’s software solutions, we will support the insurance ecosystem end-to-end, from front-end innovation through seamless back-end execution.”
Morningstar Report Focuses On Private Assets In Defined Contribution Accounts
A Morningstar Retirement March report stated that private assets can be integrated into defined contribution managed accounts only with careful liquidity-sleeve design. The report said semiliquid collective investment trusts must be built to withstand participant withdrawals, rebalancing and market shocks, and stated liquidity is a systemic requirement rather than a product feature.
The paper said back tests showed even modest redemption clustering can create significant disruption, with some scenarios requiring liquid sleeves as large as 40%. It also said private assets generally should not be offered for direct participant selection, but instead through professionally managed vehicles such as managed accounts or target-date funds.
Morningstar said the report’s framework evaluated semiliquid private collective investment trusts in the context of diversified managed-account portfolios rather than as standalone products. The paper said fiduciaries should assess liquidity in light of participant demographics, employee churn, contribution rates and withdrawal patterns, and it noted that the Department of Labor also identifies liquidity as a key risk in these structures.
Fidelity Adds Model Portfolios And Education
Fidelity launched two new suites of turnkey model portfolios designed to give RIAs and broker-dealers private markets exposure through off-the-shelf solutions. The firm also introduced an alternatives learning program for advisors, broadening its push to package private market access with portfolio construction and education support.
The new portfolios include mutual-fund and ETF-focused versions built to provide diversified exposure to private equity, private credit and private real estate. Fidelity said the offerings are currently available to eligible RIAs and broker-dealers through its relationship with Envestnet, with additional platforms expected to follow in the coming months.
Amanda Robinson, Head of Wealth Advisory Managed Solutions Specialist Distribution at Fidelity Investments, said, “Wealth managers recognize the potential for private markets to differentiate their practice and diversify portfolios, but often struggle with the time needed for research and due diligence.” Michael Scarsciotti, Head of Investment Specialists at Fidelity Investments, said, “This program helps advisors deepen their knowledge of this asset class to meet clients’ evolving needs and add value to their practices.”
Direxion-Backed Report Tracks Leveraged Trading Surge
A white paper produced by The Compound Insights for Direxion said leveraged ETF and ETN trading volumes grew faster than both stock and options volumes between 2020 and 2025. The report said leveraged fund volumes rose at a 29% annual pace over that period and described April 2025 as a record month for leveraged-fund volume and turnover.
The paper also said the leveraged-fund universe nearly quadrupled over the prior five years, with about $160.5 billion invested in leveraged funds as of the end of November 2025. It added that roughly 90% of turnover in leveraged funds came from active retail traders, while single-stock leveraged products have become a major driver of issuance and trading activity.
Active retail traders dominate activity in leveraged funds, according to the report, and typically use the products for short-term views on earnings reports, Fed meetings, unexpected headlines and market momentum. According to the paper, self-directed retail traders accounted for about 5.5% of overall U.S. equity trading activity from April through July 2025, compared with roughly 90% of turnover in leveraged funds.
iAltA Buys Delio To Expand Private Markets Stack
iAltA Holdings said it acquired Delio, a provider of white-label operating systems for private markets distribution and reporting. The buyer said Delio’s software and investment structures help asset managers, wealth firms and other distributors digitize, distribute and report on private market products, making it a fit with iAltA’s private markets infrastructure strategy.
The deal is iAltA’s third acquisition for its private markets vertical, according to the company. It follows prior acquisitions of Verivend and Betterfront, while iAltA also said earlier this year that its wealth-focused vertical acquired BridgeFT, adding to a broader effort to assemble workflow and data capabilities across alternatives.
Scott Ganeles, CEO and Founding Partner of iAltA, said, “We founded iAltA because we saw a tremendous market need to solve systemic issues within the private market landscape for general partners and distributors.” Gareth Lewis, Founder and Co-CEO of Delio, said, “iAltA is our ideal partner since both our organizations were founded on the principle that the markets need more seamless and effective solutions to meet the challenges of demand.”
Schwab Closes Forge Global Acquisition
Charles Schwab said it completed its acquisition of Forge Global Holdings, bringing Forge’s private markets capabilities onto the Schwab platform. Forge provides eligible investors with direct and indirect access to shares of pre-IPO companies through direct purchases, single-company funds and multicompany funds, according to Schwab.
Schwab said integration work is underway and that Forge will continue to operate its business while maintaining relationships with issuers. The firm also said Forge shareholders received $45 in cash per outstanding common share, and that Schwab plans to extend Forge’s products and capabilities to more investors and RIAs over time.
Rick Wurster, President and CEO of Schwab, said, “We believe helping more people participate directly in the growth of private companies is a meaningful opportunity for wealth creation and diversification, attractive to individual investors and the advisors who serve them.” He added, “This acquisition helps us round out our alternative investments offer while bringing expanded access, better value, and increased transparency to the private markets.”
Teucrium Hires Maital Legum As Head Of ETF Solutions
Teucrium said Maital Legum joined the firm as Head of ETF Solutions. The company said the hire comes as it continues to build its ETF white-label and growth-services business.
According to the company, Legum spent almost 15 years at the NYSE and helped oversee its ETF listing platform. Teucrium said she helped bring more than 3,300 products to market from more than 250 issuers representing over $10 trillion in assets under management, and that she advised asset managers through the ETF product lifecycle.
Springer Harris, President of ETF Solutions and Chief Operation Officer of Teucrium, said, “As one of the most recognizable and respected names in ETFs, Maital is well known for her extensive knowledge of the industry’s ecosystem and all that needs to happen behind the scenes to take sophisticated ideas and turn them into successful ETFs.” Legum said, “I’m excited to join a team that is building client-centric, strategic and creative solutions.”
William Blair Analysts Outline Growth Themes
William Blair Investment Management published the insights of multiple research analysts on the healthcare, financials, industrials and technology hardware sectors, highlighting how its analysts are weighing AI disruption, valuation discipline and the search for durable long-term growth against shorter-term market noise.
Matt Sykes discussed healthcare efficiency gains from AI’s effects on supply chains, diagnostics and trial design. Frank Wedekind gave a cautious near-term view on financials. Pierre Horvilleur pointed to robotics and energy infrastructure as key industrial themes. Siuchoon Koay focused on cost reduction and innovation across the AI hardware stack.
Wedekind said, “We’re short-term cautious but long-term optimistic. We believe this environment is creating opportunities that will yield attractive returns for years to come.”
HFR Reports Another Month Of Hedge Fund Gains
HFR said hedge fund performance gains accelerated through February, with the HFRI Fund Weighted Composite Index advancing 1.9% for the month. The firm said that marked the tenth consecutive month of gains and that performance was led again by macro and equity hedge funds as volatility and geopolitical risk rose late in the month.
The report said the HFRI Macro Index gained 3.0% in February after 4.15% growth in January, while the HFRI Equity Hedge Index rose 2.35% and the HFRI Relative Value Index added 0.7%. HFR also said about 75% of hedge funds posted positive performance in February, though early March showed renewed volatility and declines in several HFRX indexes.
Kenneth J. Heinz, President of HFR, said, “Financial market risk sentiment oscillated between risk on and off throughout February, before ending the month on a strong risk off trend that accelerated into early March. Geopolitical risk has surged to a historic level and hedge funds are actively navigating an unprecedented spike in financial market volatility and dramatic dislocations through the first week of March.”
Gridline Launches AI Diligence Tool
Gridline launched AltComply, an AI-based diligence tool designed to help RIAs scale private markets diligence while preserving documentation and review records. The company said it is designed to connect risk analysis, memo generation and review tracking in one system rather than as isolated workflow steps.
The firm said AltComply turns fund documents such as pitch decks, LPAs and PPMs into a structured record linked to source materials, and that it generates investment-committee memos, flags issues and tracks review status. Based on beta test feedback, Gridline said the tool removes more than 10 hours of manual diligence work per investment.
Peter Bilali, Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer of Gridline, said, “The prevailing narrative around AI has largely focused on speed and efficiency. But the next phase of adoption will be defined by trust. Advisors need systems they can stand behind in front of clients and regulators.”
AdvisorEngine Launches TAMP Offering
AdvisorEngine Portfolio Solutions launched a TAMP that it said will operate as part of AdvisorEngine’s broader platform. The company introduced the TAMP at the recent T3 Technology Conference, saying it is designed to provide independent advisory firms with scale without forcing them into standardized portfolio management templates.
The firm said the platform includes more than 1,500 investment strategies from over 300 asset managers, along with access to alternative investments, UMA and SMA capabilities, direct indexing, automated tax-loss harvesting and integrated trading and billing functions. It also said the structure is intended to reduce operational complexity by keeping those capabilities inside one connected system.
Rich Cancro, CEO of AdvisorEngine Portfolio Solutions, said, “Independent advisory firms shouldn’t have to sacrifice the personalization and value that attracted clients in the first place just to gain scale and efficiency.” Ned Dane, Chief Investment Officer of AdvisorEngine Portfolio Solutions, said, “In our TAMP, model sleeves trade automatically and firms can trade accounts through one aggregated process.”
Envestnet Brings Interval Funds Into UMA Platform
Envestnet said the first series of interval funds is now available within its UMA platform, allowing financial advisors to access interval funds directly through the UMA. The company said the change is meant to provide open-architecture access to private markets within an end-to-end portfolio management workflow.
The firm said it oversees research, trading, rebalancing, tax-loss harvesting and model updates for interval funds inside the UMA structure. It also launched an Alternatives Research Center with portfolio construction materials, use cases and related thought leadership as part of a broader effort to simplify alternatives integration for advisors.
Dana D’Auria, Co-Chief Investment Officer and Group President of Envestnet Solutions, said, “At Envestnet, our vision is to unify a historically siloed alternatives universe, so that these asset classes no longer feel like ‘alternatives.’” Todd Rais, Head of Research and CIO Support at Envestnet, said, “The inclusion of the first interval funds is the latest milestone in our ongoing initiative to give advisors the power to integrate private markets directly into unified managed accounts.”
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