Chicago-based private equity firm GTCR has reached an agreement to acquire Fiduciary Trust Company, a Boston wealth manager and trust company with a 140-year history serving high-net-worth clients.
The transaction, announced Wednesday, is expected to close in the first quarter of 2026, pending regulatory approval.
Fiduciary Trust Company, founded in 1885 and incorporated as a trust bank in 1928, manages about $34 billion in assets and is known for its private ownership structure and focus on direct client relationships. The firm touts a 98% average annual client retention rate for more than a decade, with clients receiving access to senior professionals who average over 20 years of industry experience.
Fiduciary Trust Company offers a la carte services, including financial planning, investment management, trust, estate, and tax solutions, as well as access to New Hampshire’s trust laws.
The deal comes as private equity continues to play a major role in the RIA M&A market, even as some firms have slowed their pace. According to the most recent RIA M&A report from Echelon Partners, the third quarter saw 11 direct private equity investments in RIAs, a slight decrease from the previous quarter, but the year-to-date total of 34 is already ahead of last year’s pace. Private equity-sponsored investments totaled 231 transactions for the year through September, surpassing the previous record of 215 set in 2024.
Echelon notes that “the rising share of PE-backed strategic activity underscores the expanding role of private equity in driving strategic M&A.” In the third quarter, 75.4% of strategic acquirer deals involved a buyer with private equity backing, up eight percentage points from the prior quarter.
GTCR’s acquisition of Fiduciary Trust Company marks its fourteenth new platform investment in 2025, following other wealth management platform deals including Concord Servicing, FMG, Ultimus Fund Solutions and JMG Group. Last year, GTCR also snapped up AssetMark in a $2.7 billion take-private deal.
Fiduciary Trust Company’s CEO, Austin Shapard, said in the official statement that the investment will enable the firm to “further enhance [its] client value proposition, create new opportunities for [its] talented employees, and accelerate growth in the next chapter of Fiduciary’s long history.”
Michael Hollander, managing director at GTCR, said the firm shares Shapard’s focus on client service and looks forward to working with the team to “build upon Fiduciary’s strong foundations.”
The Boston firm positions itself as free from incentives from third-party investment managers and emphasizes its independence and financial stability. Its approach to portfolio management considers income, capital gains, and estate tax consequences, with an eye toward sustainable investments and preserving clients’ buying power over market cycles.
The acquisition also arrives as the Securities and Exchange Commission has highlighted investment advisers that have been acquired as a focus area in its 2026 exam priorities, noting that such transactions can introduce operational and compliance complexities, as well as new conflicts of interest.
Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
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