Schwab’s $660 Million Bet: Bringing the Billionaire-Only Private Market to Main Street

Charles Schwab’s latest move could reshape the boundary between Main Street and the world of private investing. On Thursday, the brokerage giant announced it will acquire Forge Global (FRGE) in a $660 million all-cash deal, paying $45 per share—a 19% premium to Forge’s prior close. The boards of both companies unanimously approved the transaction, which is expected to close in the first half of 2026. For Schwab, this marks the first major acquisition under CEO Rick Wurster and a strategic leap into private markets—territory historically reserved for institutions and the ultra-wealthy.

The acquisition underscores a growing shift in the financial landscape: the “democratization” of private markets. Forge operates one of the leading secondary marketplaces for private company shares, facilitating more than $17 billion in transactions since inception. Its platform connects investors seeking exposure to high-growth private firms with employees, founders, and early investors looking to monetize their stakes. Forge also provides liquidity management and is preparing to launch interval funds that blend public-like accessibility with private-market exposure. These funds, while not offering daily liquidity, aim to lower investment minimums and expand access to qualified investors.

Schwab’s interest lies in scale. With over 46 million accounts and $11.6 trillion in client assets, it already sits at the heart of retail investing. The Forge acquisition gives it the technological backbone and regulatory infrastructure to expand into private securities distribution. “Through Forge’s leading marketplace, we’re uniquely positioned to deepen liquidity, improve transparency, and further democratize access,” Wurster said. The tie-up, he added, will also offer private share issuers “more choice and liquidity for founders, employees, and early backers.”

Forge’s CEO, Kelly Rodriques, called the merger “transformational,” noting that Schwab’s reach could open private equity to millions of retail investors and registered investment advisors. “Private companies will gain access to liquidity and new growth options,” Rodriques said, “while investors will gain new ways to participate in the innovation economy.” The transaction follows Schwab’s recent rollouts of “Private Issuer Equity Services” and “Alternative Investments Select,” platforms designed for high-net-worth clients seeking diversification through private assets, hedge funds, and private credit.

In context, this move fills a widening gap in the market. Public listings have thinned dramatically over the past two decades: from over 7,000 in the late 1990s to roughly 4,000 today. Many promising companies—Stripe, SpaceX, Databricks—have opted to remain private, meaning their early growth is captured by venture funds, not public shareholders. By acquiring Forge, Schwab can now offer a bridge for its retail and advisory clients to participate earlier in the corporate life cycle. In essence, the firm is betting that the next generation of wealth creation won’t happen on the New York Stock Exchange—it’ll happen before a company ever rings the bell.

Yet this push into private markets also opens a complex and controversial discussion: should retail investors have easy access to private equity? Advocates say yes. They argue that for too long, these opportunities have been “locked behind high walls” accessible only to the wealthy or institutional players. Private assets have outperformed public benchmarks for years—U.S.-focused private equity funds have averaged roughly 15% annualized returns over two decades, far above the S&P 500’s long-term average. Giving retail investors access, supporters say, would help level the playing field and offer portfolio diversification beyond traditional stocks and bonds.

But critics see warning lights flashing. Private markets are, by definition, opaque. Prices are model-driven, not market-traded. Liquidity is limited, and valuations often lag reality by months. Stanford finance professor Amit Seru warns that democratizing access could backfire. “Retail investors expecting transparency and liquidity from private markets are opening themselves up to valuation contagion,” he told Barron's . Once retail money floods in, the temptation for regulators to impose heavier oversight could transform private equity “into just another overregulated public market.”

The structural mismatch is another issue. ETFs or interval funds that promise periodic liquidity but hold hard-to-sell assets create a time bomb in stressed markets. If investors lose confidence in valuation marks, they rush to redeem, forcing managers to sell illiquid holdings at discounts—what academics call “fire-sale contagion.” It’s not theoretical; similar dynamics have played out in mortgage funds and private credit vehicles. For retail investors accustomed to clicking “sell” in their brokerage accounts, discovering that their private-market investment can’t be cashed out for months could be a nasty surprise.

There’s also a regulatory trade-off. Once private funds admit too many retirement accounts or retail assets, they cross the threshold into ERISA oversight, bringing new fiduciary rules, reporting burdens, and liquidity mandates. The very qualities that make private equity nimble—long-term horizons and freedom from quarterly earnings pressure—could erode under this scrutiny. If that happens, the “private” in private markets starts to disappear.

Still, the momentum is undeniable. BlackRock's Larry Fink has called for broader access to private assets, arguing that “individual investors should have the same opportunities as institutions.” Former President Trump even signed an executive order in 2025 easing rules for 401(k) plans to allocate to private equity. For fund managers, this represents a gold rush: a vast, untapped pool of capital from millions of retail savers hungry for yield.

The key question now is whether innovation or regulation defines the next chapter. Schwab’s acquisition of Forge is a watershed moment precisely because it formalizes the bridge between traditional retail brokerage and the opaque world of private finance. Done right, it could enhance liquidity, transparency, and diversification for investors while providing founders and employees new exit options. Done poorly, it could invite the same systemic risks that public markets were designed to mitigate.

In many ways, Schwab is betting that technology, not gatekeeping, will solve the access problem. By integrating Forge’s marketplace, Schwab can use scale and data to bring order to what has been an off-exchange, relationship-driven ecosystem. The idea is compelling: let a teacher in Ohio invest in the next Stripe or OpenAI before IPO day. But for that dream to work, regulators, fund sponsors, and platforms will need to thread a delicate balance between opportunity and oversight.

As the deal moves toward its 2026 close, Schwab’s $660 million bet signals that retail access to private equity isn’t just a slogan—it’s the next frontier in wealth management. The challenge will be ensuring that in making private markets more public, we don’t also make them less private, less efficient, and, ultimately, less rewarding for everyone involved.