Wellington, Vanguard, Blackstone ‘Alliance’ Eyes ‘Retirement-Specific’ Products

As Wellington Management Co. LLP, the Vanguard Group Inc. and Blackstone Inc. launch two investment funds that give advisers access to professionally managed portfolios that combine public and private markets, they are keeping an eye on the retirement market.

While specifics and timelines about the retirement products are not yet public, a Blackstone spokesperson confirmed that the three companies are collaborating on “retirement-specific solutions.”

The funds launched Wednesday—WVB All Markets Fund and WVB Blackstone All Privates Fund—are initially intended to “help advisers build more diversified portfolios for high-net-worth and mass-affluent clients,” according to the announcement.

WVB All Markets Fund, a multi-asset solution combining access to public and private markets, will trade under the tickers WVBIX, WVBAX and WVBMX. WVB Blackstone All Privates Fund, a professionally managed solution, provides access to Blackstone’s perpetual private markets platform, including private equity, private infrastructure, private real estate and private credit in a single allocation.

At launch, the two funds were available through Bank of America wealth management platforms to Merrill and Bank of America Private Bank clients.

“Our clients are increasingly seeking broader access to private markets and for thoughtful ways to implement these strategies over time,” said Mark Sutterlin, Merrill and Bank of America Private Bank’s head of alternative investments, in a statement. “Our scale and integrated platforms are expanding access to differentiated investment opportunities that can support more resilient long-term portfolios.”

Wellington Management, Vanguard and Blackstone announced a “strategic alliance” in April 2025 to collaborate on “simplified multi-asset investment solutions” combining public and private market investments, as well as active and index strategies.

Blackstone Private Wealth, the wealth management division of Blackstone Inc., hired Michael Miller in June as a senior managing director and head of retirement solutions sales. Blackstone’s defined contribution unit launched last October and has created partnerships with Empower and OneDigital to include private-market investments in retirement plan portfolios.

Wellington Management managed more than $1.35 trillion as of April 30, Vanguard has about $12 trillion in assets under management and Blackstone has more than $1.3 trillion in AUM.