A giant trading and custody ally to B-Ds and RIAs is buying into the direct indexing business.

Today, Jim Crowley, CEO of BNY Mellon's Pershing, and Ainslie Simmonds, president of the firm's new Pershing X unit, confirm that Pershing has agreed to acquire a direct indexing solutions provider called Optimal Asset Management, Inc. The deal is expected to close by the end of this month.

PJT Partners advised Optimal on the deal. On the legal side, Cooley LLP advised Optimal, while Sullivan and Cromwell LLP advised Pershing.

Crowley describes Pershing's Optimal deal as "the latest step in [the] Pershing X buildout, which aims to fuel growth by helping clients solve the challenge of managing multiple and disconnected technology tools and data sets." The deal will give Pershing's advisory clients and BNY Mellon Investment Management's institutional and retail clients access to Optimal's direct indexing capabilities.

"We're excited about joining Pershing X and the possibilities that we can jointly deliver to clients seeking customized direct indexing solutions," states Vijay Vaidyanathan, founder and CEO of Optimal. 

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