Alto Acquires Forge Trust from Schwab to Expand Private Market Retirement Investing Platform
Alto has agreed to acquire Forge Trust Co., a self-directed IRA custodian with over four decades of experience, from Charles Schwab. The acquisition will combine Alto's technology-driven private market investment platform with Forge Trust’s established custody and compliance infrastructure, creating one of the largest independent retirement investing platforms in the U.S. The combined entity is expected to manage more than $20 billion in assets under custody and administration, serving over 60,000 self-directed IRA accounts. Alto aims to streamline access for retirement capital into private markets by digitizing processes that have historically been complex and slow. The platform will include an SEC-registered broker-dealer, a FINRA member, and API-enabled enterprise capabilities. Forge Trust was acquired by Schwab in March 2026 as part of its Forge Global Inc. acquisition. Alto's CEO emphasized the strategic value of combining legacy custodial strengths with modern fintech infrastructure to reduce friction for retirement investors seeking private market opportunities.
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Topics: custody platform private markets retirement investing self-directed IRA