# Forge Global: Full-Stack Secondary Market—Now Under Schwab > Full-stack private equity secondary market—brokerage, custody, Forge Price data; the Charles Schwab acquisition and what it changes for accredited investors. Author: Мария Плотникова — юрист, Family Office (https://wiki.private.law/authors/plotnikova) Last modified: 2026-07-21T17:05:00.000Z Canonical: https://wiki.private.law/en/forge-global Topics: investments Jurisdictions: usa Functional tags: custody Product tags: investment, custody Semantic tags: custody, investment --- Forge is the largest institutional marketplace for secondary trading of private-company shares. Under one roof it combines a transaction marketplace, proprietary pricing data (Forge Price is embedded in Yahoo Finance), a suite of funds, and custody of private securities in self-directed IRA retirement accounts through Forge Trust. Execution here is broker-assisted: Forge brokers shepherd each transaction from order to settlement, so the format is closer to an organized auction than to the anonymous order book of Hiive. ## How Forge Grew The company was founded in 2014 as Equidate—a platform where employees of "unicorns" could exercise options and gain liquidity before an IPO. In 2018 the project was renamed Forge, and in November 2020 Forge acquired its main competitor SharesPost (for approximately $160 million) to become the largest private-stock marketplace. In March 2022, through a merger with SPAC Motive Capital, the company went public on the NYSE under ticker FRGE and raised around $215 million. Schwab's purchase in 2026 closes this cycle: a niche player for professionals becomes part of one of the largest U.S. retail brokerages. ## Scale and Deal of the Year Over its history Forge has facilitated more than $16 billion in transactions—over 24,000 deals and data coverage on 4,700+ companies; for a long time it remained the only publicly traded "pure-play" representative of the category (NYSE: FRGE). The key event: on November 6, 2025, Charles Schwab announced the acquisition of Forge for approximately $660 million—$45 per share in cash—and on March 2, 2026, the deal closed. Forge now operates as part of Schwab: the marketplace and data are being integrated into its ecosystem, but relationships with issuers and ongoing operations are preserved. The entry threshold for direct transactions is around $100,000; through Forge funds and indications of interest, orders are accepted from $5,000, though such lots are few. ## What You Need to Understand The main caution concerns Forge Price. It is a valuation estimate, and you cannot execute a transaction at that price: according to Forge's own disclaimer, the price "does not necessarily reflect market value" and may be based on very limited inputs. On top of the stated commission (2–5%), third-party costs are added—transfer agent, lawyers, escrow. Access is open only to accredited investors: net worth over $1 million excluding primary residence, or income of $200,000 per year ($300,000 for married couples). And almost every transaction retains a ROFR—the right of first refusal for the company or early investors to buy the stake first, which means an already agreed purchase may not go through. ## How Access Works > 🔗 **Related** > [Series LLC](https://wiki.private.law/en/series-llc) · [capital calls](https://wiki.private.law/en/capital-calls) · [access to U.S. brokerage](https://wiki.private.law/en/freedom-finance) You can buy a stake on Forge in three ways: a direct transaction in a specific company (from ~$100,000), a single-company fund for one company, or a multi-company fund for a basket of names. The two fund formats lower the threshold and spread risk. Structurally, such a fund is typically organized as a Series LLC or LP, and investor capital is drawn through capital calls, as in classic private equity. A separate product is data. Forge Price calculates indicative valuations based on closed transactions and orders, and these figures are what Yahoo Finance displays for private companies. For a market without official quotes, this is a rare benchmark: it's convenient for tracking valuation dynamics, though the price of a specific transaction is still negotiated separately. For family offices, Forge is interesting in two scenarios. First—to make a targeted entry into a late-stage known company before its listing, without waiting for an IPO. Second—to hold such securities in a retirement wrapper: through Forge Trust, private shares can be placed in a self-directed IRA and grow inside a tax-deferred account. For an investor from Russia, both scenarios hinge on access to U.S. brokerage and sanctions screening by counterparties. > 💡 For a Russian beneficial owner, one platform is not enough: you need a payment and brokerage route to Forge, and a purchased stake in a U.S. private company will almost certainly trigger CFC (controlled foreign company) reporting and currency-control obligations. These costs and duties must be calculated in advance, at entry. ## Regulation and Risks > 🔗 **Related** > [tax resident](https://wiki.private.law/en/tax-residency-basics) · [CFC (Controlled Foreign Company)](https://wiki.private.law/en/kik) Secondary trading of private shares is securities transactions under SEC oversight. Sales typically proceed under Reg D and Rule 144: securities have resale restrictions, and transfer requires issuer consent. Hence the ROFR and the company's right to block an unwanted buyer from the cap table. Liquidity here is conditional: a transaction can take weeks and fall through at any stage of approvals. Tax arises on exit. Capital gains are taxed under the rules of the jurisdiction where the investor is a tax resident; the U.S. additionally withholds tax on certain payments to non-residents. If the stake or fund is held by a controlled foreign structure, CFC reporting and related notifications are added. > ⚙️ Single-company fund versus direct transaction. A fund holds shares of a specific company for you: the entry threshold is lower, the fund itself handles the transfer with the issuer, but fund-level fees appear and you have less control over exit terms. A direct transaction is cheaper structurally and gives direct ownership, but requires $100,000+ and personal coordination with the company. ## What the Schwab Acquisition Changes > 🔗 **Related** > [Capital calls in a fund](https://wiki.private.law/en/capital-calls) · [Series LLC in Delaware](https://wiki.private.law/en/series-llc) · [Freedom brokerage route](https://wiki.private.law/en/freedom-finance) · [tax residency](https://wiki.private.law/en/tax-residency-basics) · [CFC (Controlled Foreign Company)](https://wiki.private.law/en/kik) The rationale for Schwab is distribution. Forge had the technology, data, and deal flow, but a narrow audience of professionals; Schwab has millions of retail clients and thousands of independent advisors. The stated goal is to "democratize" access to private markets: scale Forge Price and the marketplace onto Schwab's platform while preserving Forge's relationships with issuers. For investors, this likely means lower thresholds and a familiar interface in the foreseeable future, though Schwab will roll out specific products gradually (requires verification). > 🍓 Forge is the most institutional entry into the secondary market for private shares: marketplace, pricing data, and custody of securities in self-directed IRA under one roof, now with the Charles Schwab brand. Keep three things in mind: access is open only to accredited investors, Forge Price shows only a valuation benchmark, and the final commission includes third-party costs and the issuer's ROFR. ## Frequently asked questions ### How does Forge's secondary market work? Forge matches sellers of private-company shares — employees and early investors — with buyers and settles the trade inside its own stack: brokerage, custody and Forge Price data. Over its history the platform has crossed $16 billion in volume, more than 24,000 transactions covering 4,700+ companies. ### Who can buy pre-IPO shares on Forge? Accredited investors: in the US that means income above $200,000 a year or net worth above $1 million excluding the primary residence. There are three entry formats: a direct transaction in a specific company (from ~$100,000), a single-company fund, or a multi-company fund holding a basket of names. ### What does the Charles Schwab deal change? Schwab gets a ready full-stack secondary market for private shares; Forge gets distribution to a brokerage base of millions. For an investor it reduces the main risk of a niche venue — the durability of the operator itself. ### Where do private-share prices come from? Forge Price aggregates actual platform trades and indicative orders. It is not an exchange quote: depth and spread vary by name, but for popular companies it is the closest thing to market data. --- ## Sources - [SEC — official site](https://www.sec.gov/) - [FINRA — BrokerCheck](https://brokercheck.finra.org/) - [Forge Global — official site](https://forgeglobal.com/) --- ## FAQ ### How does Forge's secondary market work? Forge matches sellers of private-company shares — employees and early investors — with buyers and settles the trade inside its own stack: brokerage, custody and Forge Price data. Over its history the platform has crossed $16 billion in volume, more than 24,000 transactions covering 4,700+ companies. ### Who can buy pre-IPO shares on Forge? Accredited investors: in the US that means income above $200,000 a year or net worth above $1 million excluding the primary residence. There are three entry formats: a direct transaction in a specific company (from ~$100,000), a single-company fund, or a multi-company fund holding a basket of names. ### What does the Charles Schwab deal change? Schwab gets a ready full-stack secondary market for private shares; Forge gets distribution to a brokerage base of millions. For an investor it reduces the main risk of a niche venue — the durability of the operator itself. ### Where do private-share prices come from? Forge Price aggregates actual platform trades and indicative orders. It is not an exchange quote: depth and spread vary by name, but for popular companies it is the closest thing to market data. --- ## Factual claims - The company was founded in 2014 as Equidate—a platform where employees of "unicorns" could exercise options and gain liquidity before an IPO. - You can buy a stake on Forge in three ways: a direct transaction in a specific company (from ~$100,000), a single-company fund for one company, or a multi-company fund for a basket of names.