One year after acquiring custom direct indexing platform Brooklyn, Nuveen says the business has scaled far beyond its original footprint, underscoring growing advisor demand for personalized, tax-efficient investment strategies.
The global investment manager announced that Brooklyn’s assets under management (AUM) have increased approximately eightfold to $8.1 billion since June 2025. The company also reported that the number of financial advisors using the platform has more than doubled, while total client accounts have expanded by over 600%.
The update offers an early look at how Nuveen is integrating personalized portfolio technology into its broader asset management business—a strategy that reflects one of wealth management’s fastest-growing trends. As advisors increasingly seek customized portfolios instead of traditional model portfolios or ETFs alone, direct indexing has become a competitive battleground for major investment firms.
Direct Indexing Moves Beyond Public Markets
While direct indexing initially gained traction for tax-loss harvesting and customized equity portfolios, Nuveen is positioning Brooklyn as a broader multi-asset investment platform.
A key development over the past year has been the integration of Nuveen’s alternatives capabilities into Brooklyn’s portfolio construction engine. Investors can now incorporate interval funds, giving eligible portfolios access to private market investments alongside traditional public market holdings.
Nuveen says roughly 10% of Brooklyn accounts now include interval funds as part of their overall allocation, highlighting growing advisor interest in combining personalization with alternative investments.
The move reflects a broader industry shift as asset managers attempt to make historically institutional-only investment strategies more accessible through digital wealth platforms.
Growth Fueled by Advisors and Tax-Efficient Strategies
According to Nuveen, Brooklyn’s expansion has been driven by both new financial advisor relationships and existing advisors increasing client allocations on the platform.
Notably, the company says tax-advantaged long/short strategies accounted for roughly half of the platform’s AUM growth, suggesting investors continue prioritizing tax efficiency amid evolving market conditions.
Beyond asset growth, the platform has also significantly expanded its advisor network, reinforcing direct indexing’s transition from a niche wealth management offering into a mainstream portfolio construction tool.
Why It Matters
Nuveen’s update arrives as competition in the direct indexing market continues to intensify. Asset managers and fintech firms—including BlackRock, Vanguard, Morgan Stanley, and Charles Schwab—have invested heavily in personalized investing technology as advisors demand greater portfolio customization without sacrificing operational efficiency.
Brooklyn’s reported growth suggests that institutional asset managers increasingly view direct indexing as more than a standalone tax optimization tool. Instead, platforms are evolving into comprehensive wealth management ecosystems capable of blending public securities, alternative investments, and customized client objectives within a single investment framework.
For Nuveen, the acquisition appears to be paying early dividends. Beyond expanding assets, the company is demonstrating how integrating technology with a global asset manager’s investment capabilities can accelerate product innovation while giving advisors access to more sophisticated portfolio construction tools.
Whether this momentum continues will depend on advisor adoption, continued product innovation, and how effectively firms can differentiate themselves as personalized investing becomes an increasingly crowded market.
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