Alto buys Forge Trust to expand self-directed IRAs

Alto has agreed to acquire Forge Trust from Schwab, creating a self-directed IRA platform with more than $20 billion in assets under custody and administration.

The deal combines Alto's technology-based retirement investment platform with Forge Trust, a self-directed IRA custodian with more than 40 years of operating history. Once the acquisition closes, the combined business will have more than 60,000 self-directed IRA accounts holding private market assets and more than 3 million Custody-as-a-Service accounts.

Financial terms were not disclosed. The deal remains subject to approval by the South Dakota Division of Banking.

The acquisition expands Alto's reach in a market where retirement money has largely remained outside private assets. Alto said more than $19.9 trillion sits in IRAs, while global alternative assets under management are approaching $32 trillion.

The enlarged platform will bring together custody, compliance, a broker-dealer, a private market investment marketplace and API-based services for enterprise clients. Forge Trust also adds a broader range of alternative asset classes, account types, and existing client and partner relationships.

Investors in self-directed IRAs have often faced lengthy manual processes when putting retirement money into private assets such as private equity, private stock, real estate and promissory notes. Alto said its system digitises documentation and execution workflows, and that adding Forge Trust's custody operation will extend that infrastructure to a broader customer base.

Schwab came to own Forge Trust through its acquisition of Forge Global earlier this year. Forge Trust is a South Dakota-chartered custodian specialising in holding alternative assets for retirement accounts.

The combined business will serve financial advisers, individual investors and enterprise partners. Advisers can access private market investments for client retirement accounts through Alto's Private Deal Room, while individual investors use its marketplace for alternative assets. Enterprise clients access custody and marketplace services through embedded technology connections.

Eric Satz, founder and Chief Executive Officer of Alto, described the transaction as a step towards bringing more retirement capital into private assets.

"The joining of Alto and Forge Trust brings together the best elements of the past, present, and future of private market retirement investing. We see an enormous opportunity to bring alternative assets into the financial mainstream by making retirement capital easier to put to work," Satz said.

He said the two businesses bring different strengths to the deal.

"Forge Trust's alternative asset offerings are complementary to Alto's modern, user friendly, and API-enabled infrastructure, and together reduce the friction that has kept retirement capital out of private markets. This is the platform that delivers what private market retirement investing has needed," Satz said.

Market access

The deal reflects growing interest from wealth managers in private assets for retail and retirement clients, even as operational barriers remain. Alto cited industry data showing that 74% of registered investment advisers want to increase client allocations to private markets.

For self-directed IRA investors, access has historically depended on paper-heavy processing and fragmented systems between custodians, advisers and investment providers. Alto has argued that software and automation can reduce that burden, particularly for investments outside listed markets.

Forge Trust's existing book of business gives Alto a larger base from which to pursue that strategy. The custodian handles alternative investments including real estate, private stock, private equity, private placements and precious metals.

Liz Alexander, Chief Operating Officer at Forge Trust, said continuity for clients and staff had been central during the sale process.

"Our priority throughout this process has been to ensure continuity for our clients and our people while positioning the business to serve them even better over time," Alexander said.

She said Forge Trust's custody experience would be paired with Alto's systems after the deal closes.

"By joining Alto, we will combine Forge Trust's deep custodial expertise and commitment to high-quality service with Alto's AI-powered technology and broader investment capabilities to best support all of our clients," Alexander said.

Alto said Forge Trust clients do not need to take any action for now, and that the custodian will continue servicing accounts in the ordinary course while any future changes are communicated directly to customers.