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McKinsey has handed control of $20bn of assets from its investment arm to Neuberger Berman after a strategic review of the unit, which invests the private wealth of the consulting firm’s senior staff and partners.
The firm hired advisers in January 2025 to launch a review of its in-house asset manager MIO Partners and consider a possible sale of the unit, which has been scrutinised for years over potential conflicts of interest with McKinsey’s consulting work.
The agreement will transfer MIO’s alternative investment strategies to Neuberger, the New York manager with more than $560bn in assets, the firms said on Tuesday.
MIO’s 280 employees and its advisory business for McKinsey partners will also transfer as part of the deal. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.
MIO’s assets include McKinsey partners’ retirement pot and the wealth of a wide network of alumni and their families. The unit is a subsidiary of McKinsey, but has a separate board and management.
MIO’s assets total $26bn, but the deal excludes $6bn that is invested in passive funds.
In 2021 MIO was fined $18mn when the US Securities and Exchange Commission accused it of inadequate internal controls. The SEC alleged that partners in charge of MIO’s investment choices had access to confidential information about their clients’ financial results, deals and funding plans.
The business has since revamped its governance and has said that its operations are “intentionally separated” from the consulting arm. MIO no longer invests in individual stocks or bonds of any public or private company.
The unit’s flagship “special situations” strategy, which holds the majority of its funds, uses what the firm calls an “all-weather, multi-strategy” investment approach.
MIO pursues macro trading strategies, trading asset classes such as sovereign debt, commodities, foreign exchange, equity indices and credit indices, according to its website. Regulatory filings show it invests heavily in externally managed funds.
The agreement with Neuberger, which followed a vetting process of different managers, is expected to close this year subject to gaining client consent and regulatory approvals.
A person close to Neuberger said it would consider expanding the unit’s client base beyond McKinsey clients and deploying some of its assets into private markets.
Bob Sternfels, McKinsey global managing partner, said Neuberger’s “record in both investment and wealth management, and their partnership culture, convinced us that they were the right long-term steward of MIO”.
George Walker, chair and chief executive of Neuberger, said his firm shared “strong cultural alignment” with McKinsey as both are “private, employee-owned firms with a singular focus on serving the long-term interests of clients”.