Transaction sees new leadership team members join to accelerate Wilshire’s delivery of its strategic growth objectives, capitalizing on the global digitization tailwinds to improve outcomes for investors globally
New York, January 13, 2021 – CC Capital, a private investment firm focused on investing in and operating high-quality businesses for the long term, and Motive Partners (collectively the “Investor Group”), a private equity firm focused on technology-enabled financial services companies, today announced the close of the acquisition of Wilshire Associates (“Wilshire”), a global investment technology and advisory company. At the close, Wilshire and its new investors announced their growth vision and new leadership additions to help capitalize on the market opportunity as a leading world-class data, analytics and investment solutions provider.
The leadership team at Wilshire will be augmented by a number of new executive hires, coordinated by the Investor Group to drive additional value to clients, including the new Chief Executive Officer, Mark Makepeace, Founder of FTSE International and former Chief Executive Officer of FTSE Russell, the global index provider that he grew from inception to be a leading global player. Andy Stewart, an Industry Partner at Motive Partners, joins as Chief Innovation Officer, having previously co-led BlackRock’s Alternative Investment platform. Mr. Stewart brings extensive experience building and leading investment businesses across some of the most successful asset management firms in the world. Jody Kochansky, an Industry Partner at Motive Partners, joins as Chief Technology Officer, having previously served as Head of the Aladdin Product Group at BlackRock. Aladdin is an operating system for investment professionals that powers every aspect of the investment process, and Mr Kochansky was responsible for defining and implementing the vision for the platform used globally by BlackRock and many of BlackRock’s largest clients. Nick Teunon, formerly the Chief Financial Officer of FTSE International, joins as Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Teunon has significant experience in both acquisitions and working with internationally focused growth companies. Alongside them, Jason Schwarz will continue to lead the investment and portfolio analytics activities as President and Chief Operating Officer.
The team will be focused on driving growth by providing investment solutions that deliver impact and value to existing and prospective clients, both organically and through acquisitions.
“The foundation Wilshire has built over nearly five decades provides us with a unique opportunity to deliver innovative solutions to the market, driving real benefits for our clients. I believe that this company, with its deep pool of talent, can unlock great value for those we serve,” said Mark Makepeace, Chief Executive Officer of Wilshire.
“Ahead of the retirement of our founder, Dennis Tito, we identified a set of experienced executives that we believe uniquely complement the existing talent and our growth aspirations and strategy of Wilshire. Working alongside Mark, Andy, Jody and Nick, we will have the opportunity to create long-term value as we improve outcomes for investors globally,” commented Jason Schwarz, President & COO of Wilshire.
The investment management industry’s rapid technological evolution presents opportunities for all aspects of the value chain. With its new leadership additions renowned for pioneering in the industry, Wilshire will build on its strong foundations by executing a growth strategy focused on product innovation and technology-enabled capability enhancements while maintaining its unique focus on improving investment outcomes for current and prospective clients around the globe.
“The leadership team we’ve structured is well-equipped to ensure our innovation roadmap supports the existing business, first and foremost enhancing client offerings and creating market efficiencies. Having worked with Jody at BlackRock, I have seen the impact that technology and pragmatism can have in partnership, and Wilshire is uniquely well-placed to leverage this intersection for the benefit of its clients and the industry more broadly,” said Andy Stewart, Chief Innovation Officer of Wilshire.
“Building upon Wilshire’s long-standing commitment to providing clients with deep insights and analytics, we are excited to focus on the digitization of the entire advisory and investment process. Technology will enable us to more closely partner with our clients across asset allocation, manager and product research, and portfolio construction and implementation,” said Jody Kochansky, Chief Technology Officer of Wilshire.
Effective immediately, the firm will operate under its shorter name – Wilshire – as part of a comprehensive global brand evolution, including the rollout of a new identity and digital assets through the first quarter of the year.
PJ Solomon, Broadhaven Capital Partners and UBS served as financial advisors and Kirkland & Ellis, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison and Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom served as legal advisors in connection with the transaction.
About Wilshire
Wilshire is a leading global investment technology and advisory company, dedicated to improving outcomes for investors worldwide. Founded in 1972, Wilshire advises on over $1.1 trillion in assets and manages $76 billion in assets. Specializing in innovative investment solutions, consulting services and multi-asset analytics, Wilshire serves more than 500 institutional and intermediary clients worldwide, delivering a high quality, coordinated platform of client-centric investment solutions that leverage the entire firm’s resources to the maximum benefit of our clients.
More information on Wilshire can be found at www.wilshire.com
About CC Capital
CC Capital is New York-based private investment firm focused on partnering with high-quality companies, owners and management teams to grow shareholder value for the long term. The firm was founded in 2015 by Chinh Chu, former Senior Managing Director of Blackstone where he spent 25 years in various leadership roles, and invests through the lens of long-term or perpetual ownership through various permanent capital sources. CC Capital acts as a value-added partner to the companies in which it invests and leverages its deep industry relationships with best-in-class executives and collective experience, insights, and resources to assist its management team partners in driving substantial value creation.
More information on CC Capital can be found at www.cc.capital
About Motive Partners
Motive Partners is a specialist private equity firm with offices in New York City and London, focusing on control-oriented growth equity and buyout investments in software and information services companies based in North America and Europe and serving five primary subsectors: Banking & Payments, Capital Markets, Data & Analytics, Investment Management and Insurance. Motive Partners brings differentiated expertise, connectivity and capabilities to create long-term value in financial technology companies.
More information on Motive Partners can be found at www.motivepartners.com
For more information please contact:
AMANDA LAKE, Prosek Partners on behalf of Wilshire media@wilshire.com
