Citadel Securities Takes Minority Stake in Wolfe Research to Expand Institutional Trading

Citadel Securities acquired a minority stake in independent research firm Wolfe Research, the companies confirmed on October 2, 2026. Financial terms were not disclosed. The deal marks Wolfe's first outside investment and pushes Citadel deeper into equity research and institutional trading long dominated by Wall Street banks. Under the arrangement, Citadel Securities will execute trades for Wolfe's clients and distribute Wolfe's research products to its own customer base. Wolfe plans to shift equity and options trade execution to Citadel over time while retaining its research relationship with Nomura Group in Japan. "We were missing a certain part of the equity flows because a certain aspect of these flows are directly tied to the research product," Citadel Securities President Jim Esposito said. Citadel Securities, founded by Ken Griffin, handles over one-third of U.S. retail stock trades. Wolfe Research, launched by Ed Wolfe in 2008, provides quantitative, equity, and macro research across hundreds of companies.