Goldman Sachs builds platform for direct private-company investments

Goldman Sachs formed a dedicated alternative-investments platform giving wealthy clients and family offices access to direct stakes in individual private companies. The move reflects growing demand for exposure to large companies before they enter public markets and forms part of a broader expansion of private-market products across wealth-management channels.

Elsewhere, Wellington, Vanguard and Blackstone launched two public-private funds through Bank of America, while T. Rowe Price and Goldman Sachs introduced a multi-asset private-markets interval fund. HSBC announced an AI centre in Singapore and agreed to sell its local insurance business to Allianz, while Julius Baer reported record first-half assets and profit.

This brief covers 21 to 27 July 2026.

Goldman Sachs builds platform for direct private stakes

Goldman Sachs formed a new alternative-investments platform giving wealthy clients and family offices access to direct stakes in individual private companies, CNBC reported on 21 July, citing an internal memo. The platform combines its fiduciary single-asset unit with its family-office direct-investment team and includes a secondary advisory team to help clients buy, sell or unwind existing private-company holdings. Matt Doherty, who oversees Goldman Sachs’ broader alternatives business, will lead the group.

Kristin Olson, Goldman Sachs’ global head of alternatives for wealth, said clients were increasingly seeking access to large growth-technology companies before they list publicly. Olson also pointed to Goldman’s history of arranging access to companies including Facebook before its 2012 listing and, more recently, SpaceX, Stripe and Canva.

Julius Baer posts record assets and profit in first half

Julius Baer reported record assets under management (AUM) of CHF547 billion ($684 billion) for the six months to 30 June 2026, up CHF26 billion ($33 billion), supported by market performance, currency movements and net new money of CHF5.7 billion ($7.1 billion). Reported net profit under International Financial Reporting Standards reached CHF673 million (approximately $842 million), up 128%, while adjusted net profit was also CHF673 million, up 32% from an underlying CHF511 million (approximately $639 million) a year earlier.

The adjusted cost-to-income ratio improved to 62.6% from 68.2%, while the group’s common equity tier 1 ratio stood at 18.5% at the end of June. The result marked Julius Baer’s strongest reported first-half profit on record, against a prior-year comparison affected by elevated credit losses and an merger and acquisition (M&A)-related impact from the sale of Julius Baer Brazil.

Wellington, Vanguard and Blackstone launch funds through Bank of America

Wellington Management, Vanguard and Blackstone launched the WVB All Markets Fund and the WVB Blackstone All Privates Fund on 22 July, the first products from their alliance combining public equities, active fixed income and Blackstone’s private equity, infrastructure, real estate and credit strategies in single allocations. Both are unlisted closed-end funds offering liquidity only through quarterly tender or repurchase offers at net asset value. At launch, they are available to eligible Merrill and Bank of America Private Bank clients.

The alliance broadens the range of private-market strategies available through a major wealth-management distribution platform while retaining restrictions on investor liquidity. The firms anticipate participation from registered investment advisers and said they will explore additional distribution opportunities across the wealth-management market over time.

Leon invests in $10.2 billion Tocqueville as RIA funding demand grows

Leon Financial Network invested in Tocqueville Asset Management, a New York-based independent registered investment adviser with $10.2 billion in assets. Leon will provide growth capital and access to operational resources, including its M&A and technology capabilities. Leon says its investment model is intended to support expansion while preserving the autonomy of partner firms. The transaction is its second wealth-management investment after its backing of $2.8 billion multi-family office Legacy Knight.

The investment reflects growing demand for strategic capital among independent RIAs facing succession, technology and consolidation pressures. Leon provides another source of debt and equity funding alongside private-equity firms and established RIA aggregators, increasing competition to back mid-sized advisers seeking scale without fully surrendering operational control.

HSBC builds Singapore AI hub to personalise wealth services

HSBC plans to establish a Global AI Centre of Excellence in Singapore in the second half of 2026, initially developing applications for wealth-management conversations, agentic treasury services and digital payments. The bank intends to recruit more than 100 specialists across data science, natural-language processing, AI governance and human-centred design to work with its global AI and business teams.

For wealth management, the centre signals a shift towards AI-supported client engagement that can personalise interactions at scale while retaining human oversight. Locating the hub in Singapore also strengthens the city-state’s position as a development centre for regulated financial-services AI and may intensify competition among global banks for specialist talent.

EFG International completes Quilvest Switzerland acquisition

EFG International completed its acquisition of Zurich-based Quilvest Switzerland on 21 July, adding a private bank founded in 1932 that serves ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW) clients across Latin America, Europe, Switzerland and the Middle East. EFG’s revenue-generating AUM reached CHF196.3 billion ($245 billion) at the end of June, up 21% year on year. Adding Quilvest’s approximately CHF3.9 billion ($4.9 billion) of AUM took the combined figure above CHF200 billion ($244 billion) following completion.

EFG reported net profit of CHF184.6 million ($231 million), up 5% excluding exceptional items in the prior-year comparison but down 17% on a reported basis including a 2025 insurance-recovery gain. The deal, announced in January, increases EFG’s scale in Latin America and the Middle East, which it has identified as priority markets. The legal merger of Quilvest Switzerland into EFG Bank is targeted for completion by the end of 2026.

Arax adds Transcend with $3 billion in AUM as RIA consolidation accelerates

Arax Advisory Partners signed a definitive agreement to acquire Transcend Capital Advisors, a multi-state registered investment adviser with more than $3 billion in AUM and over 1,000 client relationships. Founded in 2019, Transcend serves high-net-worth individuals and families. The transaction, expected to close in the third quarter of 2026, would make Transcend the seventh firm to join Arax this year.

Subject to completion, Transcend would gain access to Arax’s scale and operational resources, while both firms say the partnership is intended to preserve its advisory approach. For Arax, the acquisition expands its high-net-worth footprint and reinforces an acquisition-led growth strategy used by national wealth platforms to add assets, advisers and investment capabilities.

HLB Private Bank plans private market funds for Malaysian investors

HLB Private Bank launched two new private markets funds for accredited investors with Gaia Investment Partners on 21 July 2026.  The Global Private Equity Fund-of-Funds II will invest across mid-market buyouts, co-investments, secondaries and growth equity, while the Private Markets Evergreen Income Fund will provide exposure to strategies including infrastructure credit and intellectual property royalties.

HLB cited estimates that private market assets have increased from around $1 trillion in the 1990s to close to $10 trillion and could reach $25 trillion by 2030. The planned offerings show how private banks are packaging diversified private-market strategies for eligible Malaysian clients seeking access to investments historically dominated by pension funds, sovereign wealth funds and other institutional investors.

T. Rowe Price and Goldman launch interval fund

T. Rowe Price and Goldman Sachs Asset Management launched the T. Rowe Price Goldman Sachs Private Markets Fund on 27 July, an interval fund giving individual investors exposure to private equity, private credit, private real estate and infrastructure in a single portfolio. The fund does not require investor accreditation, carries a $2,500 initial minimum for its Class A and Class D shares and offers quarterly repurchases of between 5% and 25% of outstanding shares.

The fund combines T. Rowe Price’s multi-asset and private-equity teams with Goldman Sachs Asset Management’s alternatives platform and the private-credit expertise of Oak Hill Advisors, T. Rowe Price’s credit affiliate. It is the latest offering from the firms’ collaboration announced in September 2025 and follows their joint model portfolios introduced in December.

HSBC agrees to sell Singapore life and health insurer to Allianz

HSBC agreed on 24 July to sell its Singapore life and health insurance business to Allianz under agreements carrying combined consideration of SGD2.9 billion ($2.3 billion). This comprises SGD2.7 billion ($2.1 billion) for 100% of HSBC Life Singapore’s share capital and an initial SGD200 million payment connected with a 15-year exclusive bancassurance partnership. Allianz will provide protection, health, retirement and wealth solutions to HSBC’s Singapore customers.

The transaction is expected to complete in the first half of 2027, subject to regulatory approval, and is expected to generate a pre-tax gain of $1.8 billion and increase HSBC’s common equity tier 1 ratio by up to 15 basis points. The disposal supports HSBC’s shift towards a capital-light bancassurance model while retaining customer access to insurance products. For Allianz, it provides long-term distribution through HSBC’s retail and high-net-worth client base in a leading Asian wealth centre.