Vanguard Met With Blackstone, Carlyle on Private Markets Product

Vanguard Group held discussions with major alternative asset managers in recent months to explore potential tie-ups that would market private assets to individual investors.

The talks with Carlyle Group Inc. and Blackstone Inc. were preliminary, and Vanguard doesn’t yet have plans to collaborate with either firm, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing private issues.

The world’s second-largest asset manager, Vanguard is well known for offering low-cost passive funds. Its global head of oversight and manager search, Matt Piro, led the discussions about partnerships that could potentially give Vanguard’s clients access to private ...