Gallagher & Co. Acquires Investment Consultant, OCIO Firm Agilis Partners

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has acquired Waltham, Massachusetts-based Agilis Partners LLC, an investment and retirement plan consulting firm that offers its institutional clients tailored risk management services, with offices in greater Boston, New York and Denver.

Agilis was a provider of liability-driven investment, outsourced CIO and investment advisory services.

Tom Cassara and his team will remain in their current locations under the direction of Jeff Leonard, Gallagher’s global financial and retirement services business leader.

“Agilis’s strong record of growth, client-focused culture and consultative approach to solving problems will enhance our retirement plan and investment consulting capabilities,” J. Patrick Gallagher Jr., chairman and CEO of the Gallagher firm, said in a statement. “I am very pleased to welcome Tom and his associates to Gallagher.”

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Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., a global insurance brokerage, risk management and consulting services firm, is headquartered in Rolling Meadows, Illinois. Gallagher provides services in approximately 130 countries around the world through its owned operations and a network of correspondent brokers and consultants.

Tags: Agilis Partners LLC, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., Gallagher, J. Patrick Gallagher Jr, OCIO

The global outsourced CIO world is larger than most estimates, according to management consulting firm Chestnut Advisory. The firm estimated in a recent report that OCIO providers worldwide managed $4.79 trillion in 2024,

But why is estimating total OCIO assets under management so difficult?

It’s the lack of standards, Chestnut Advisory writes: Because the industry is relatively new, it does not have industry standards as robust as other industry segments.

One of those standards defines an OCIO mandate. Some OCIO providers report different mandates and client types; some exclusively report institutional mandates; and others include private wealth mandates in their AUM. Some providers include legacy assets the firm did not allocate, while others do not, according to the report.

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“Our definition of an OCIO mandate is similar to the new definition proposed by the CFA Institute 1—an engagement [in which] the OCIO provides both strategic investment advice and investment management services in one engagement for a pool of assets,” the report stated. “This definition includes mandates for asset class sleeves, partial portfolios and full portfolios.”

Chestnut defines an OCIO mandate as an engagement in which a third party provides both strategic investment advice and investment management services for a pool of assets.

“There are many different types of mandates and clients included in the ‘OCIO AUM’ reported by providers today,” said Amanda Tepper, Chestnut Advisory’s co-managing partner, in a statement. “Our new definition of an OCIO mandate is a first step toward establishing an industry standard for OCIO AUM.”

The largest OCIO providers included in the report include Mercer, with $548 billion in outsourced assets under management, Goldman Sachs Asset Management ($392 billion), BlackRock ($367 billion), Russell Investments ($327 billion) and Captrust ($209 billion).

The firm forecasted that the OCIO market will grow to $7.3 trillion in assets under management by 2029.

Chestnut researched the 2024 AUM of 134 different OCIO firms, acknowledging “the AUM values on our list are imperfect” due to the varying standards. The report also stated it expects to include more European and Asian OCIO providers in future rankings.