Rob Sharps, the chairman and chief executive of T. Rowe Price, takes Bloomberg's Romaine Bostick through how a $1.9 trillion active manager grows while money leaves active equity funds. The conversation covers the Goldman Sachs partnership, the F/m Investments deal, private assets in defined contribution plans, tax-loss harvesting, an actively managed crypto product, and why the firm has stayed in Baltimore.
👤 Guest: Rob Sharps, chairman and chief executive of T. Rowe Price, who joined as a research analyst three decades ago and ran the firm's global equity business and then all of its investments before taking the top job
🎙️ Host: Romaine Bostick, anchor at Bloomberg Television
📰 Published: 31 August 2026 on Bloomberg Talks
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Key Takeaways
Two-thirds of the firm's $1.9 trillion is retirement money, which is what sets the time horizon on every product decision
"I would also point out that two-thirds of that $1.9 trillion is retirement-related in some way."
Record assets and record gross inflows sit alongside outflows from active equity funds in the US
"In the equity asset class, passive now has about 64% market share, and it's picking up 2% to 3%."
He blames the shape of the market as much as the product — the largest companies have persistently delivered the best performance
The answer to a shrinking mutual fund business is different wrappers, not different investing
Active ETFs, separately managed accounts and, on the retirement side, trusts
Speed to market is why Goldman Sachs is a partner rather than a target
Building or buying the same private markets capability would have taken significantly longer
The private assets trust for retirement plans is built and waiting, and he expects slow adoption
"We're operationally ready to launch a trust that incorporates private market assets at certain points along the glide path."
A half a percent or a percent of extra compound return is the case; three to five years is too short to judge it
Tax is where he sees the next round of product demand, in both wrappers
The ETF is the more tax-efficient wrapper; the SMA is where tax-loss harvesting lives
The F/m acquisition is small and is meant to be read as a signal about fixed income ETFs and SMAs
Fixed income also dilutes the equity beta sitting in T. Rowe Price's own financials
The firm says no to almost everything brought to it — three deals in five years
OHA, Retiree and F/m, against a stream of approaches
He is asking investors for time, and knows some of them do not want to give it
"It may be that that period of time is not as quick as some investors might like it."
AI is pointed at insight generation before headcount
"All of our investment professionals have access to AI tools."
The former analyst says the tools expand coverage rather than replace the analyst
A firm founded in 1937 now sells an actively managed multi-token crypto product
"Times change, right? You have to evolve. We listen to clients."
Baltimore stays the headquarters, and the new building is the proof
Forty miles from Washington, on the Acela corridor, with Hopkins and the University of Maryland Medical Center nearby
$1.9 Trillion, and Two-Thirds of It Is Retirement Money
Bostick opened with the scale of what Sharps is responsible for. "Let's face it, if you have a 401k in this country, there's a decent chance one of Rob's deputies has a hand in managing some of that money." — Romaine Bostick. He then put the milestone to him: "You hit $1.9 trillion, a big milestone a few months ago."
Sharps answered by narrowing the number rather than celebrating it. "It's a significant responsibility that we're deeply focused on."
"I would also point out that two-thirds of that $1.9 trillion is retirement-related in some way."
He treats retirement as the firm's organizing purpose, calling it a first-order objective for most individuals and many institutions around the globe, and said T. Rowe Price is well positioned to deliver outcomes for savers and retirees
The Founder's Bargain With Clients, and a CEO Who Came Up Through Research
Bostick asked how the job now squares with the idea Thomas Rowe Price Jr. had when he "founded this company 90 years ago".
The founder's proposition still runs the culture, Sharps said: the vision was that "if you took care of your clients, they'll take care of you"
What delivers it is the platform, in his telling — an integrated global investment platform with expertise across asset classes and geographic markets. The stronger that engine, the stronger the firm
His own route to the job was an investing one. He had been on the management committee and the leadership team for a little over four years when he was elevated
He started as a research analyst covering financial services, which meant covering the firm's own counterparties, clients and competitors
"I spent the bulk of my career building a large cap growth franchise." That gave him the craft of investing and the commercial side of it — finals presentations, fees, positioning and performance updates
He ran the global equity business, then all of investments as group chief investment officer
"So I'm not sure that I was surprised, but certainly very flattered by the opportunity."
Record Assets, Record Gross Inflows, and Money Still Leaving Active Equity
Bostick pressed on organic revenue growth: assets under management at a record and gross inflows strong, but persistent concern about net inflows and the transition out of mutual funds into active ETFs, separately managed accounts and private assets.
Sharps did not dispute the framing. He said the firm has had record gross inflows and record AUM, and that the outflows from active equity within US funds are an industry-wide headwind rather than a T. Rowe Price problem.
"In the equity asset class, passive now has about 64% market share, and it's picking up 2% to 3%."
He gave two causes, one market and one structural. The largest market cap companies have persistently delivered the best performance over a long period, which flatters the index; and the open-ended mutual fund, a vehicle the firm has been very successful in and remains committed to, has become less central to many clients
The response is a wrapper strategy: leaning into ETFs and SMAs, and trusts on the retirement side
Fixed income is the growth story he leads with, with several years of consistent growth behind it
"We're the largest provider of active and blend target date funds."
Alternatives is the third leg, and he laid out how it was assembled
OHA, acquired right before he became CEO at the end of 2021, an alternative credit provider doing stressed, distressed, structured, private and multi-strat credit
A late-stage venture capability built internally, which he said is meeting significant success
A partnership with Goldman Sachs for public-private offerings aimed at the wealth and retirement market, announced not quite a year ago
Why Goldman Sachs Is a Partner Rather Than a Target
Bostick asked why partner at all, rather than buy a firm or build the capability in-house — the Goldman deal was Sharps' own, and an interval fund has already come out of it.
All three routes are live, he said: organic building, as with late-stage venture; acquisition, as with OHA; and partnering
Goldman was chosen on complementarity and speed. Many of its strengths sit where T. Rowe Price's do not, and it brought capabilities the firm lacked in parts of private market alternatives, which allowed products to reach the market quickly
"I think the industry landscape is evolving pretty rapidly, and speed to market was part of the decision with regard to partnering relative to building internally or organically or acquiring, both of which would take significantly more time."
The Private Assets Trust Is Built and Waiting; He Expects Slow Uptake
Asked whether private assets are about to appear inside a T. Rowe Price target date fund, Sharps said the plumbing is finished.
"We're operationally ready to launch a trust that incorporates private market assets at certain points along the glide path."
He sees client interest, and expects it to be narrow at first. Part of the market is enthusiastic about the diversification and the elevated returns available from trading liquidity for return
Significant segments will want to watch how it plays out, with a greater focus on fees and more hesitancy
"So I do see adoption of private market alternatives in defined contribution plans. I think it will be a relatively slow evolution at the outset, confined to a certain subsegment of the market."
The Transparency Objection, and the Half a Percent That Answers It
Bostick put the standard objection: most asset classes are relatively transparent, and a saver can check a mutual fund or an ETF any day of the week and know exactly how it is doing. Private assets do not offer that, and people want to know how their money is performing.
Sharps answered with the horizon rather than the disclosure. Defined contribution plans should have a very long time horizon, and this will have to play itself out over an extended period
"I don't think you'll be able to look after a year or perhaps even three or five years and say that this has been a success."
Many participants will want to keep owning the asset well into retirement
The payoff he is underwriting is a fraction of a percent, compounded: "So if you look at historical returns, even if you can get a contribution that elevates your compound return by a half a percent or a percent by incorporating private market assets at certain points along the glide path, it really does create a more differentiated outcome in retirement for that participant."
A subset of the market will get comfortable more quickly, he said, and the rest will wait for the record
Tax Is the Next Product Question, in Both Wrappers
Bostick asked whether the firm is building new products around tax-advantaged strategies. Sharps said it is, and split the answer by vehicle.
"The first thing I would say is that the ETF as a wrapper is more tax efficient than open-ended mutual funds." The first job is a full range of ETFs, then using them inside model accounts and asset allocation models for clients building after-tax wealth
"We also have the SMA business, and the SMA business is where a lot of the emphasis on tax loss harvesting and tax optimization has really manifested itself." He expects that to be an area of growth
On the regulator, Bostick noted the IRS is taking a closer look at some of these strategies and asked whether the firm has been in contact
Sharps said he is very comfortable with the approach the firm would use, which is relatively straightforward, and that he has no concerns
"I think there are certain products in the market that are likely to come under more scrutiny. We currently don't have any offerings in that arena."
The F/m Deal Is Small on Purpose and Meant to Be Read as a Signal
"So, the F/m acquisition, although small, I think is a really important signal of the importance of fixed income ETFs and SMAs to T. Rowe Price and its strategy."
The second reason is the firm's own balance sheet risk. A very successful equity business leaves T. Rowe Price with a lot of equity beta exposure in its underlying financials, and building fixed income reduces how much of that volatility the company itself carries
The wealth channel is the distribution argument. ETFs and SMAs are, in his words, the preferred way to access investment capability in the wealth channel going forward, and wealth is one of the firm's strategic priorities
What F/m brings is a capability T. Rowe Price does not have in liquidity and cash management, plus a team he called innovative and excited to join
His case for owning it: take those capabilities and that team, and extend them further and faster than either the target on its own or T. Rowe Price building from scratch could manage
F/m stays semi-detached for now, and Bostick asked whether that was deliberate. "It was a decision basically to make sure that we got off to a strong start together and that we were really focused on evaluating the best ways to integrate."
He said that is not an end state: with a longer lens the two sides will learn each other's businesses, and T. Rowe Price can add distribution muscle while F/m helps with the product roadmap
M&A: Three Deals in Five Years, and No to Almost Everything Else
The firm is always looking. "Our industry is consolidating. The definition of scale is being redefined, and we're always evaluating M&A opportunities. We have a very, very high bar."
What clears the bar is new capability or access to new clients, particularly where it is not disruptive to existing obligations to clients
Approaches come to them, not the other way round. "We have many things brought to us. We have scale. I think we have a wonderful brand."
Asked how many things he says no to, Sharps said: "Most all of them."
His own arithmetic for it: OHA, Retiree and F/m Investments over a period of five years, which he called a very, very small minority of what the firm looks at
Independence, and the Share Price He Is Asking Investors to Be Patient With
Bostick observed that "T. Rowe has always been proudly independent." and that there must have been points in the firm's history when someone was ready to write a check.
Sharps put independence second to the three constituencies. The firm is focused on delivering for clients and creating opportunity for its associates, which he believes delivers returns for shareholders
It has a very long time horizon and is financially strong, and can take part in the industry's consolidation where it judges that to be the right thing to do
Bostick then asked why investors are not giving him more credit, given the stock's recent underperformance and the concern that the newer products carry lower fees than the traditional mutual funds — more assets, less revenue
Sharps conceded the fee point and argued the mix. "I think there's no question that industry-wide there's pressure on fees from a like-for-like perspective." Alternatives carry fee pressure too, but a much richer mix than the firm's current one
"I think investors are very, very focused on the near-term outflows and near-term fee pressure." Some would like the firm to move faster into the areas that are on trend and growing
His answer is that doing it right beats doing it quickly — launching strategies with a differentiated value proposition that deliver for end clients. He expects to grow fixed income, alternatives and retirement, and to stabilize active equity and return it to growth
"It may be that that period of time is not as quick as some investors might like it."
AI Is Aimed at the Research Platform Before the Headcount
Bostick asked about the new AI leadership structure and what the end goal is.
"I would say the first order objective will be to leverage those powerful tools to enhance our investment insight generation."
"All of our investment professionals have access to AI tools." Internal experts are partnering with portfolio managers and research analysts to use them to surface insights from the firm's proprietary research
Bostick pushed on the obvious fear, given that Sharps started his own career as an analyst: that the tools replace the analyst
Sharps rejected it. The tools do parts of the role much more efficiently, freeing analysts for value-added insight generation, time with industry experts and with the leaders of the companies they cover, and perhaps a wider coverage list
"So I think there are tools that will make the job actually more interesting and hopefully more impactful in a way."
He was explicit that efficiency is also the point elsewhere, saying the firm is driving productivity in a number of other parts of the business
A Crypto Product From the Firm Thomas Rowe Price Jr. Founded
Bostick could not resist: "I saw you guys launched a crypto ETF. Oh, come on. What would the founder think of that?"
"Times change, right? You have to evolve. We listen to clients." The test he applied is whether the firm can meet the need with a strong, durable investment proposition that is differentiated from the competition
"So what we launched is an actively managed multi-token exchange-traded product. I think it's unique in the industry. I'm not aware of another one like it."
For clients who want digital assets in their asset allocation, he said, what T. Rowe Price offers can be outstanding relative to what is available today
Why the Firm Stays in Baltimore
The interview was recorded in T. Rowe Price's new Baltimore building, which opened last year. Bostick asked why the firm has stayed put while financial industry jobs have dispersed away from Wall Street and the other financial centers.
"Well, it's been our home since T. Rowe Price was founded in 1937."
He made the case as a location pitch: the Chesapeake Bay and the Inner Harbor, 40 miles from the nation's capital, an international airport, and a place on the Acela corridor
"Our investors can be on a train and be in New York in two hours and 20 minutes."
Hopkins and the University of Maryland Medical Center are the health care institutions he named
"We have 7,000 plus associates globally and a number of other locations where we can access talent."
The commitment is a leadership decision, he said, not just an inherited address: the leadership team is committed to the future of T. Rowe Price in Baltimore
Sharps' bottom line is that T. Rowe Price's growth problem is a packaging problem rather than an investing one — the money leaving active equity funds is leaving a vehicle, not the firm — and that fixing it through ETFs, separately managed accounts, private assets in retirement plans and a handful of small acquisitions will take longer than the firm's own shareholders would like.
Products, Companies & Tools Mentioned
T. Rowe Price (The firm Sharps runs, at $1.9 trillion in assets, about two-thirds of it retirement-related, and the largest provider of active and blend target date funds)
Oak Hill Advisors (The alternative credit manager acquired at the end of 2021, doing stressed, distressed, structured, private and multi-strat credit — the firm's first leg into alternatives)
Goldman Sachs (Partner on public-private offerings for the wealth and retirement market, chosen for complementary capabilities and speed to market; an interval fund has already come out of it)
F/m Investments (The fixed income ETF and SMA manager whose acquisition Sharps calls a small deal with a large signal, and which brings a liquidity and cash management capability T. Rowe Price lacked)
Retiree (Named alongside OHA and F/m as one of only three deals the firm has done in five years)
Johns Hopkins and the University of Maryland Medical Center (The health care institutions he lists among Baltimore's advantages)
The Acela corridor (Part of his case for the headquarters: investors can be in New York in two hours and 20 minutes)
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