Fixed income, the investment category covering bonds and debt instruments that pay a scheduled return, is the subject of a new acquisition deal. T. Rowe Price Group agreed to buy F/m Investments, a Washington-based firm that oversaw $19 billion in assets as of July 31, 2026. The purchase price was not disclosed.
F/m, founded in 2019 and affiliated with 1251 Capital Group, built its model around making bond investing easier to use. The firm runs 20 ETFs across US Treasuries, inflation-protected securities known as TIPS, corporate bonds, and municipal securities. Its signature product line is the US Benchmark Series, described as the first standardized range of single-security US Treasury ETFs. The series gives investors maturity-specific exposure to US Treasury securities through an exchange-traded fund rather than through direct bond ownership.
What T. Rowe Price expects from the deal
T. Rowe Price said completing the transaction is expected to lift its fixed income assets under management by nearly 9%. It also expects to more than double its fixed income ETF assets under management and to enlarge its separately managed account business. A separately managed account, or SMA, is a portfolio managed directly for a single client rather than pooled into a fund alongside other investors' money.
Arif Husain, T. Rowe Price's chief investment officer and global head of fixed income, said the acquisition is aimed at expanding capabilities in areas of durable client demand. He pointed to F/m's ETF product development as complementary to T. Rowe Price's active fixed income lineup across its intermediary, institutional, retirement, and wealth platforms.
F/m CEO and co-founder Alexander Morris said the two firms share a mission of making fixed income simpler for investors to use. He said T. Rowe Price's scale and resources gave F/m the partner it needed to keep innovating on behalf of clients.
What was agreed and what is only projected
After completion, F/m will operate under the name "F/m Investments, a T. Rowe Price Company." It retains its brand, leadership team, investment process, and day-to-day structure. Morris will report to Husain, and F/m staff will join T. Rowe Price as associates.
The transaction is expected to close in early 2027, pending customary regulatory filings and closing conditions.