Forge Global
Forge gives you institutional-grade data — but requires institutional-style engagement to actually transact. It is one of the strongest platforms for private market intelligence, fund access, and custody, but execution remains specialist-driven, fee visibility is incomplete before engagement, and Forge Price is not a tradeable price.
What the data shows
Not a price
Forge Price does not represent the price at which you could buy or sell. Forge says this explicitly. For thinly traded names it may be calculated from a single indication of interest.
$660M
Charles Schwab acquired Forge in March 2026 — bringing potential access to 46M+ Schwab clients. Forge still operates as a specialist platform requiring broker engagement.
$1.285B
Documented across 105 funded Forge SPVs in AltStreet Form D data (August 2016 to March 2026). FG-BLU raised $397M from 148 investors — the largest single secondary SPV in the AltStreet dataset.
What the data actually shows - TL;DR
Forge is institutional private market infrastructure that retail accredited investors can also access. The data layer is world-class. The transaction layer requires specialist engagement. The Schwab acquisition adds scale.
Form D data sourced from SEC EDGAR. AltStreet coverage: 105 Forge Investments LLC SPVs, $1.285B raised, August 2016 to March 2026.
AltStreet Weekly
Get new platform breakdowns weekly
One useful review, data point, or platform comparison each week. Built for investors who want the answer and the evidence.
No spam. Just alternative-investment research when it is useful.
Quick Verdict
Is this platform right for you?
Forge in 30 seconds: it is a private market infrastructure platform combining marketplace access, data, funds, and custody. Best for: institutional-style investors who want serious market intelligence and can work through a specialist-led process. Biggest strength: best-in-class data and platform infrastructure. Biggest weakness: fee opacity and execution friction — you cannot fully model your return before speaking to a broker.
Best for
- Institutional-style investors who want strong private market data and are comfortable working through a specialist-led transaction process
- Investors who need integrated private securities IRA custody (Forge Trust Co. — not available on Hiive or EquityZen)
- Investors who want fund access at $5,000 minimum with 0% management fee structure
- Institutional and sophisticated investors who use Forge's data products (Forge Price, FPMI, quarterly Investment Outlook) alongside marketplace access
- Investors who want the broadest private company coverage — thousands of names vs. Hiive's 3,000 or EquityZen's 450
Avoid if
- You need to fully model your return before speaking to a broker — Forge's 2-5% range still requires a commission agreement and third-party costs are not quantified publicly
- You want live bids and asks before committing — Forge Price is a derived data model, not an order book
- You are making your first pre-IPO investment and want a simpler packaged experience
Top strengths
- Best-in-class private market data and infrastructure: Forge Price, FPMI, fund access, custody, and Yahoo Finance distribution
- Forge Price on hundreds of companies — now embedded in Yahoo Finance, the most distributed private market data product available
- Three registered entities: broker-dealer, SEC-registered investment adviser (fiduciary), and South Dakota chartered trust company
- Forge Fund SPVs at $5,000 minimum — ROFR handled at fund level, 1-2% placement fee, no per-investor ROFR exposure
- Forge Trust Co. SDIRA custody — eliminates the third-party self-directed IRA custodian problem
- FPMI: 75.6% last 12 months as of September 30, 2025; institutional quarterly Investment Outlook reports
- $4.1T in private company value tracked — the most comprehensive private market data coverage accessible at the retail level
Key limitations
- You cannot fully model your return before speaking to a broker — the exact commission rate and third-party transaction costs are not disclosed upfront
- Forge Price ≠ market price — explicitly 'does not necessarily represent the market price of any securities'; may be based on one data point
- Fees require specialist engagement — the 2-5% range is confirmed but the exact rate for your transaction is not available publicly
- Third-party transaction costs (transfer agent, legal opinion, escrow) add all-in friction above the stated commission — not quantified publicly
- Direct secondary minimum $100,000 — highest among major accessible platforms
- No live order book — execution requires a transaction specialist; 30-45 day settlement including ROFR window
- ROFR rate ~8% at market trough — not published publicly; per-company history not available
Compare Before Deciding
Where Forge Global fits against alternatives
Use these hooks to pressure-test whether this is the right platform, or whether a nearby alternative matches the job better.
How this compares to Hiive
Hiive
Live order book with real bids/asks; disclosed 5%/6.8% max fees; 0% management fee Hiive Funds SPVs; best for active price discovery
How this compares to EquityZen
EquityZen
2.5% buyer-only fee (post-Morgan Stanley acquisition February 2026); ROFR handled at platform level; Morgan Stanley-owned; $5K minimum; simpler SPV access
Why It Matters
Investor relevance and market role
Forge is the only retail-accessible platform where the data layer and the transaction layer are structurally different products. The data layer — Forge Price, FPMI, Yahoo Finance integration, quarterly Investment Outlook — is genuinely institutional-grade and the most comprehensive in the market. The transaction layer — specialist-facilitated execution, 30-45 day ROFR window, undisclosed third-party costs — is designed for institutional workflows. The tension between those two layers is the defining investor experience on Forge. It rewards investors who treat these as separate tools: use the data layer broadly, engage the transaction layer deliberately.
Investor Type Required
Accredited investor (marketplace); qualified purchaser for certain fund structures
Minimum Entry
Direct secondary: $100,000 standard ($50,000 limited); Forge Fund SPV: $5,000; Institutional: $1M+
Appropriate Risk Tolerance
High — total loss possible; illiquid for 3-10+ years; returns are binary
Appropriate Time Horizon
5-10 years minimum; no guaranteed exit before a company liquidity event
Real-world validation
- $4.1T in total private company valuation tracked as of Q3 2025 (7.8% of S&P 500 market cap; up from $421B / 2.2% in 2015)
- FPMI: 75.6% last 12 months, 19.3% last 5 years, 22.4% since inception (as of September 30, 2025)
- Yahoo Finance partnership (March 2025) — Forge Price data embedded in Yahoo Finance for all US users
- Three separately registered entities: Forge Securities LLC (FINRA/SIPC), Forge Global Advisors LLC (SEC-registered investment adviser), Forge Trust Co. (South Dakota chartered trust company)
- Institutional Forge Investment Outlook reports (quarterly) with FPMI data, primary market activity, mutual fund marks, and exit activity
- SharesPost integration completed 2021 — combined historical transaction database
- Median annual appreciation of 65.7% for unicorns from unicorn status to IPO (per Forge October 2025 research, 56 companies 2019-2025)
Scale signals
Private Market Value Tracked
$4.1T
Total mid- and late-stage private company valuation tracked; 7.8% of S&P 500 market cap as of Q3 2025
FPMI L12M Return
75.6%
Equal-weight index as of September 30, 2025; vs. SPY at 19.0% and QQQ at 26.0% over same period
FPMI 5-Year Return
19.3% annualized
Since inception January 2019; competitive with major US indices
Private Market Growth
4x growth in secondary market volume
Past decade, despite 2022-2023 downturn; per Forge research
Unicorn-to-IPO Median Return
65.7% annualized
Median for 56 unicorns that went public 2019-2025; survivorship-biased
Quick Answers
What most investors want to know first
The highest-signal facts first: minimums, liquidity reality, K-1 timing, and whether distributions are actually part of the experience.
Minimum
Direct secondary: $100,000 standard ($50,000 in limited cases); Forge Fund SPV: $5,000; Institutional bids: $1,000,000+
Liquidity
Forge marketplace provides secondary resale through specialist-facilitated matching — not a live order book. The Price Discovery Equilibrium benchmark is ~12% bid-ask spread; the market reached a historic low of 6.4% median spread in Q2 2024, driven by buy-side IOIs representing 55.2% of platform activity. Forge Price indicates whether a company has active trading interest, but transaction execution takes 30-45 days including ROFR window. All positions should be treated as illiquid until a company liquidity event.
K-1 Timing
Late March to mid-April target for Forge Fund SPVs; Forge Global Advisors LLC cannot issue K-1s until the underlying private company provides financial and tax data; 90-day post-closing internal target; extensions past April 15 are a common outcome
Distributions
Tied to underlying company liquidity event timeline, which is unpredictable and may be 3-10+ years from investment date
Overview
Platform Overview
A concise read on what the platform is, how the structure works, and where the practical friction shows up for real investors.
Multi-product private market platform operating through three registered entities: Forge Securities LLC (broker-dealer facilitating secondary marketplace transactions), Forge Global Advisors LLC (investment adviser managing ~$2.46B AUM across 122+ fund series), and Forge Trust Co. (South Dakota chartered trust company offering custodial services). Forge offers: (1) a secondary marketplace for accredited investors to buy and sell pre-IPO company shares — direct secondary minimum $100,000 standard ($50,000 limited cases), brokerage fee 2-5%; (2) Forge Fund SPV investments with $5,000 minimum and 1-2% placement fee plus fund-level management fees and carried interest; (3) Forge Data, a subscription-based data platform distributing Forge Price™ to institutional subscribers including Yahoo Finance; and (4) custodial services through Forge Trust Co. including self-directed IRA support. ROFR window on direct trades: 30-45 days; platform-level exercise rate ~8% at 2023 market trough, trending upward through Q2 2024. Forge Price™ is a derived daily data product — not an executable price. The Forge Private Market Index (FPMI) reported 75.6% over the last 12 months and 22.4% since inception as of September 30, 2025.
It operates through three separately registered entities: Forge Securities LLC (broker-dealer, FINRA/SIPC member), Forge Global Advisors LLC (SEC-registered investment adviser, ~$2.46B AUM across 122+ fund series), and Forge Trust Co. (South Dakota chartered trust company). Direct secondary transactions carry a 2-5% brokerage fee; Forge Fund SPV investments carry a 1-2% placement fee plus fund-level management fees and carried interest per offering documents. Direct secondary minimum: $100,000 standard ($50,000 limited cases); Forge Fund minimum: $5,000. ROFR window: 30-45 days; ~8% exercise rate at 2023 market trough, trending upward through Q2 2024. The platform tracks $4.1T in private company value as of Q3 2025 (7.8% of S&P 500), publishes the FPMI (75.6% last 12 months as of September 30, 2025), and distributes Forge Price data to Yahoo Finance.
Platform Type
Secondary marketplace + data products + fund management + custody — four distinct capabilities through three registered entities
Regulatory Status
Forge Securities LLC: SEC-registered broker-dealer, FINRA member, SIPC member. Forge Global Advisors LLC: SEC-registered investment adviser. Forge Trust Co.: South Dakota chartered trust company.
Eligible Investors
Accredited investors (marketplace buyers); qualified purchasers for certain fund structures; accredited investors for fund products; employee sellers do not require accredited status
Brokerage Fee Structure
Direct secondary: 2-5% of transaction value (Form CRS maximum 5%); Forge Fund SPV: 1-2% placement fee at entry; Forge Pro institutional: negotiated. Success-based only — no fee if trade does not close. Additional third-party costs: transfer fees, legal opinion, escrow.
Fund Fee Structure
Forge Fund SPV: 1-2% one-time placement fee; management fees and carried interest (typically 20% in the broader VC industry) per specific fund offering documents. $2.46B AUM across 122+ fund series as of end 2025.
Custodial Services
Available through Forge Trust Co. — a differentiated capability not offered by Hiive or EquityZen
Private Market Data
Forge Price™ (daily, calculated for hundreds of companies), Forge Private Market Index (FPMI), quarterly Investment Outlook reports, Yahoo Finance integration (March 2025)
Private Market Scale Tracked
$4.1T total private company valuation tracked as of Q3 2025 (up from $421B in 2015); represents 7.8% of S&P 500 market cap
Market Efficiency
Median bid-ask spread: 6.4% as of Q2 2024 (3-year median 11.4%; Price Discovery Equilibrium benchmark ~12%). Buy-side IOIs: 55.2% of platform activity in early 2024.
FPMI Performance
75.6% last 12 months; 8.6% last 3 years; 19.3% last 5 years; 22.4% since inception (January 2019) — as of September 30, 2025. Equal-weight index of mid- and late-stage private companies.
Minimum Investment
Direct secondary: $100,000 standard ($50,000 in limited cases); Forge Fund SPV: $5,000; Institutional bids: $1,000,000+
ROFR Rate
~8% at Q1 2023 market trough (up from <3% in bull market 2021); trending upward through Q2 2024. ROFR window: 30-45 calendar days. Forge Fund SPVs often bypass per-investor ROFR — handled at fund-creation level.
Visual Summary
Forge Global vs. Hiive vs. EquityZen: Structural Comparison
Forge is best understood as institutional private market infrastructure. Hiive is best understood as a live trading platform. EquityZen is best understood as a packaged retail access product.
Platform Model
Fee Transparency
Price Data
Custodial Services
Investment Adviser
Data Products
Primary Orientation
ROFR Disclosure
ASWhat Forge's Multi-Entity Structure Means for Retail Investors
- Forge Trust Co.'s custodial capability means accredited investors can hold private company securities within a Forge-administered account — including potentially in IRAs managed through the trust company. This is a structural service gap that Hiive and EquityZen do not fill, and it matters for tax-advantaged account holders who want private equity exposure.
- Forge Global Advisors LLC's status as an SEC-registered investment adviser means that for fund products managed by this entity, investors have the full protections and disclosures required under the Investment Advisers Act — including fiduciary duty obligations that broker-dealer-only platforms do not have for all services.
- The Forge Price / Yahoo Finance integration represents a distribution moat that is difficult for competitors to replicate. Forge Price is the first private company pricing data embedded in a major public financial platform. This creates a flywheel: more retail investors see Forge Price on Yahoo Finance → more retail investors come to Forge to transact → more transaction data improves Forge Price quality.
Key Gaps & Non-Disclosures
- Brokerage fees require direct engagement with a transaction specialist — no public rate schedule available.
- Minimum investment size not disclosed in public materials.
- No published ROFR exercise rate data comparable to Hiive's disclosed statistics.
- Fund fee structures (management fees, carried interest) for Forge Global Advisors vehicles not publicly disclosed.
Investor Operations
The practical questions investors actually care about: when tax documents arrive, how cash distributions work, and whether capital can be exited before the underlying asset is sold.
Tax Documents
K-1 Timing
What to expect
Late March to mid-April target for Forge Fund SPVs; Forge Global Advisors LLC cannot issue K-1s until the underlying private company provides financial and tax data; 90-day post-closing internal target; extensions past April 15 are a common outcome
Delay signals
- Underlying company delays providing audited or reviewed financial statements (no public reporting obligation for private companies)
- Complex fund-level capital events during the fiscal year (secondary closes, tender offers, company recapitalizations)
- Multi-company fund structures requiring aggregated company-level financials before K-1 preparation
- Underlying company fiscal year-end other than December 31
Extension risk
Common outcome for Forge Fund investors — budget for extension filing costs as a standard planning assumption for all Forge Fund positions
Confidence: High
Cash Flow
Distributions
Frequency
Not applicable for most direct secondary purchases prior to a company liquidity event. Fund vehicles: distribution policy varies by fund; distributions occur at company exit or tender offer close. Custodial accounts: distributions depend on company-level events.
Timing
Tied to underlying company liquidity event timeline, which is unpredictable and may be 3-10+ years from investment date
Consistency
N/A prior to exit. Fund vehicle distributions trigger applicable carried interest and administrative fees per fund offering documents.
Confidence: Low
Liquidity
Exit Reality
Holding period
No Forge-imposed lockup for direct marketplace transactions, but individual company transfer restrictions and ROFR provisions apply. ROFR window: 30-45 calendar days per trade. Post-IPO lockups of 90-180 days typically apply to shares that transition from private to public. Fund vehicles may have specific lockup provisions per offering documents.
Exit options
- Company liquidity event (IPO, acquisition, or tender offer) — primary exit path for direct purchases and fund investments
- Secondary resale through Forge marketplace to another accredited buyer — availability depends on company approval and buyer demand
- Company-initiated tender offers or structured liquidity programs facilitated through Forge
- Fund vehicle liquidity per specific fund terms
Secondary market
Forge marketplace provides secondary resale through specialist-facilitated matching — not a live order book. The Price Discovery Equilibrium benchmark is ~12% bid-ask spread; the market reached a historic low of 6.4% median spread in Q2 2024, driven by buy-side IOIs representing 55.2% of platform activity. Forge Price indicates whether a company has active trading interest, but transaction execution takes 30-45 days including ROFR window. All positions should be treated as illiquid until a company liquidity event.
Confidence: Medium
Investment Structures
Direct Secondary Transaction (Forge Securities LLC)
Accredited investors buy and sell shares of private companies through the Forge secondary marketplace, facilitated by Forge Securities LLC as broker-dealer. Minimum: $100,000 standard; $50,000 in limited cases where issuers permit smaller allocations.
Brokerage fee: 2-5% of transaction value (Form CRS maximum 5%), tiered down for larger transactions and repeat clients. Additional third-party costs apply: transfer agent fees, legal opinion to verify registration exemption, and escrow fees.
Settlement: 30-45 calendar days from agreement to close, encompassing ROFR window (30-45 days). ROFR rate: ~8% at 2023 trough.
Forge Price on company pages is a data indicator, not an executable price..
Forge Fund SPV (Forge Global Advisors LLC)
Fund vehicles organized and advised by Forge Global Advisors LLC (SEC-registered investment adviser, ~$2.46B AUM across 122+ fund series). Minimum: $5,000.
Fee: 1-2% one-time placement fee at entry, plus management fees and carried interest per specific fund offering documents (industry standard ~20% carried interest). Investors purchase units in an SPV that holds the underlying private company shares.
ROFR is typically handled at the fund-creation level, bypassing per-investor ROFR exposure. Settlement significantly faster than direct trades: subscription agreement → fund within 1-5 days; units issued upon receipt of funds.
K-1 reporting applies (partnership pass-through); delivery targeting late March-April. Forge Global Advisors LLC owes fiduciary duties as SEC-registered investment adviser..
Custodial Services (Forge Trust Co.)
Forge Trust Co., a South Dakota chartered trust company, provides self-directed IRA (SDIRA) custodial services supporting Traditional, Roth, SEP, SIMPLE IRAs, and Individual 401(k)s. Minimum cash balance: $500 ($100 for Coverdell ESAs); $15/quarter penalty if below minimum.
Annual fees: $50 setup (one-time) + $200/year account fee ($50/quarter) + $12/quarter per private company asset (Type 2) + $40/transaction for buys or sells. Annual fixed cost for one private company position: ~$248 ($200 account + $48 asset fees).
Additional: $25/domestic wire outgoing; $150 account termination. Storage for precious metals: $1 per $1,000 of asset value ($100 minimum; $190 for segregated storage).
Integrated custody is a structural differentiator not offered by Hiive or EquityZen..
Risk
Risk Structure
This is where the marketplace pitch gives way to the actual operating reality: delayed exits, limited disclosure, fee drag, and path-dependent outcomes.
AIAltStreet Risk Inferences
- The FPMI's reported 32% down-round rate in Q3 2024 — the highest recorded on the Forge platform — signals that the private market correction of 2022-2024 is not fully resolved. Investors entering the market in 2025-2026 should not assume the strong recent returns of 2024-2025 represent steady-state private market performance.
- The median annualized appreciation for unicorns from when they become a unicorn until IPO is 65.7% (per Forge's own October 2025 research), but this figure reflects companies that successfully IPO'd — a survivorship-biased sample. Companies that do not IPO or are acquired at low valuations are excluded from this calculation.
- The top 10 largest private companies grew from an average valuation of $22.8B in 2019 to $87.2B in 2024, per Forge's own research — but this was driven primarily by AI-sector companies. Investors in non-AI private companies may not experience this level of appreciation.
- Forge's statement that the total private market now represents 7.8% of S&P 500 market cap (up from 2.2% in 2015) supports the long-term investment case for private market exposure, but it also means there is more capital competing for the best allocations than at any previous point in the market's history.
Forge Price Reliability Limitation
Forge Price™ is explicitly described as a 'derived, indicative price' that 'may rely on a very limited number of inputs in its calculation' and 'is not intended to, and does not necessarily, represent the market price of any securities.' For companies with low trading activity, Forge Price may be calculated from a single indication of interest. Investors who use Forge Price as a valuation anchor for transaction decisions are relying on a data product with explicit limitations on accuracy and representativeness.
Undisclosed Brokerage Fee Structure
Brokerage fees charged by Forge Securities LLC are not publicly disclosed. The Disclaimers and Disclosures page explicitly notes that prices 'do not include transaction fees or fees charged by Forge Securities LLC.' Investors cannot calculate all-in transaction costs from public materials and must engage a transaction specialist to obtain a commission agreement before transacting.
ROFR Risk — Confirmed Rate and Timeline
ROFR exercise rate was ~8% at the Q1 2023 market trough, up from under 3% in the 2021 bull market, and continued trending upward through Q2 2024 as market conditions improved. The ROFR window is 30-45 calendar days. An 8% rate means roughly 1 in 12 successfully matched direct trades is acquired by the company itself rather than settling with the external buyer. Forge Fund SPVs often bypass per-investor ROFR because the fund entity handles ROFR at the fund-creation level — a structural advantage for investors who want to eliminate individual ROFR exposure.
Multi-Entity Complexity
Forge operates through three separately registered entities (broker-dealer, investment adviser, trust company) plus the unregistered parent software entity. Each entity has distinct regulatory protections, fee structures, and terms of service. Retail investors must understand which entity they are contracting with for each service. The unregistered parent entity (Forge Global, Inc.) does not owe fiduciary or broker-dealer duties — only the registered subsidiaries do.
Private Market Valuation Opacity
Forge's own disclosures note that private companies 'have infrequent share transactions and often lack a transparent or continuously updated market price' and that 'there is no assurance that private investments are priced daily — or even weekly.' The Forge Price methodology addresses this partially, but investors must understand that private company valuations are fundamentally different from public market prices.
Forge Price ≠ Market Price — Forge Says So Explicitly
Risk Summary
Forge Price™ is a derived daily data product. Forge's own disclaimers state it 'does not necessarily represent the market price of any securities,' 'is not the price at which you could buy or sell,' and 'may rely on a very limited number of inputs in its calculation.' For thinly traded companies, a Forge Price may be calculated from a single indication of interest.
Why It Matters
Forge Price looks like a market price. It is not a market price. It appears on every company stock page — and now on Yahoo Finance — alongside numbers that are prices. It is not. For the most actively traded names (SpaceX, Anthropic, Stripe), Forge Price is a meaningful directional signal. For the hundreds of lesser-traded companies in the catalog, it may represent a single IOI from months ago. The gap between what Forge Price looks like and what it is constitutes the single most important thing to understand before using the platform.
Mitigation / Verification
Treat Forge Price as one signal among several — never the sole basis for a transaction entry price. Cross-reference against: the company's most recent primary round valuation per share; Hiive's live order book bid/ask where available; any publicly disclosed comparable secondary transactions. The gap between Forge Price and where you can actually transact is the real price of entry.
You Cannot Model Your Return Before Speaking to a Broker
Risk Summary
Direct secondary transactions cost 2-5% in Forge Securities LLC brokerage fees, plus third-party costs (transfer fees, legal opinions, escrow) that Forge acknowledges but does not quantify in advance. On a $100,000 minimum trade at 4% commission, brokerage alone is $4,000 — before additional third-party costs.
Why It Matters
You cannot fully model your return before speaking to a broker. That sentence applies to every direct secondary trade on Forge. The commission range is confirmed. The exact rate is not public. The third-party costs exist but are not quantified. This is not a flaw — it is institutional broker-dealer pricing applied to a platform that retail accredited investors also use. If you need to know your total cost before engaging, use Forge Fund SPVs (1-2% placement fee, no add-on costs) or a competing platform.
Mitigation / Verification
Request the full commission schedule and an itemized estimate of third-party costs (transfer agent fees, legal opinion, escrow) from your Forge transaction specialist before proceeding. Compare the all-in cost against equivalent transactions through Forge Fund SPVs (1-2% placement fee, no add-on transfer costs) or competing platforms.
ROFR Risk — ~8% Rate at Market Trough, Trending Up
Risk Summary
ROFR exercise rate reached ~8% at the Q1 2023 market trough (1 in 12 matched direct trades) and continued trending upward through Q2 2024. The 30-45 day ROFR window ties up buyer capital in escrow without a guarantee of completion.
Why It Matters
Unlike Hiive (18% 2024 ROFR rate), Forge's ROFR rate is lower historically — but the trend is upward, and the rate during bull markets (under 3%) and troughs (~8%) shows meaningful variation. For direct secondary buyers, this represents uncompensated opportunity cost risk on approximately 1 in 12 to 1 in 33 transactions depending on market conditions. Forge Fund SPVs handle ROFR at the fund-creation level, bypassing per-investor ROFR exposure.
Mitigation / Verification
For direct secondary trades, ask the Forge transaction specialist if the target company has exercised ROFR on recent trades. For investors who want to eliminate ROFR exposure entirely, route through Forge Fund SPVs rather than direct trades.
Private Market Valuation and Volatility Risk
Risk Summary
The FPMI's Q3 2024 data showed that 41% of tracked companies experienced price decreases in that quarter, with an average markdown of -16.1%. The 32% down-round rate matched the highest recorded on the Forge platform.
Why It Matters
Strong recent FPMI performance (75.6% last 12 months as of September 30, 2025) follows a period of significant private market correction. Investors entering at current valuations — particularly for AI-sector companies at high implied multiples — may face different return dynamics than those who entered during the 2022-2023 correction.
Mitigation / Verification
Review the full FPMI constituent performance distribution, not just the aggregate index return. Assess whether the specific companies you are targeting have already appreciated significantly from their last primary round and what upside remains before your exit scenario.
ASRisk signals to watch
- You cannot obtain the Forge Securities LLC brokerage fee schedule in writing before transacting.
- You are relying on Forge Price as the sole or primary basis for your transaction entry price without verifying against other data sources.
- You require liquidity within 3-5 years — no guaranteed exit mechanism exists before a company liquidity event.
- You are uncomfortable with the multi-entity structure and cannot clearly identify which Forge entity you are contracting with for each service.
- You need a platform to explicitly publish ROFR exercise statistics before investing — Forge does not provide this.
Regulatory & Legal Posture
Security Status
Unregistered securities of private non-reporting issuers; exempt from SEC registration under applicable secondary transaction exemptions
Forge Securities LLC facilitates secondary trading in unregistered private company securities. Forge Global, Inc.
(the parent software entity) explicitly states it is not a registered broker-dealer, investment adviser, or funding portal — only its subsidiaries are registered. Brokerage services are offered by Forge Securities LLC.
Investment advisory services for fund products are offered by Forge Global Advisors LLC. Custodial services are offered by Forge Trust Co.
All transactions are restricted to accredited investors on the buyer side..
Disclosure Quality
High for regulatory entity structure (multiple registered entities clearly identified in disclosures). Low for investor-facing fee disclosure (brokerage fees not publicly available). Comprehensive Terms of Use, Disclaimers and Disclosures, and Privacy Policy published on the platform. FINRA BrokerCheck registration independently verifiable for Forge Securities LLC.
Custody Model
Forge Securities LLC facilitates transactions as broker-dealer. Forge Trust Co. offers custodial services for private securities as a South Dakota chartered trust company. Escrow for transaction funds is provided through Dwolla, Inc. (payment processing). Fund assets are administered by Forge Global Advisors LLC and associated fund administrators.
Regulatory Backing
Forge Securities LLC: SEC-registered broker-dealer, FINRA member, SIPC member. Forge Global Advisors LLC: SEC-registered investment adviser.
Forge Trust Co.: South Dakota chartered trust company, DPF-certified for EU/UK/Swiss data transfers. Forge Global, Inc.: not registered with SEC, FINRA, or any state securities authority..
Tax Treatment
Reporting
Direct secondary purchases: Forge does not issue tax documents; the company (issuer) or transfer agent is responsible depending on transaction structure. Forge Fund SPVs: Schedule K-1 issued annually by fund administrator (SS&C or equivalent, per Forge Global Advisors LLC). Forge Trust Co. custodial accounts: standard trust company tax reporting.
Forge Fund K-1s target late March to mid-April delivery. Forge Global Advisors cannot issue a K-1 for a specific fund series until it receives financial reporting and tax data from the underlying private company. Private companies have no obligation to file public financials and often report in late March-April, triggering the 90-day internal post-closing target. Tax extension filings are a common outcome for Forge Fund investors when underlying companies delay reporting.
Income Character
Capital gains (direct secondary purchases); partnership income/loss (fund vehicle K-1s); potential ordinary income (certain fund distributions)
For direct secondary purchases, gains and losses are characterized as capital gains based on the investor's holding period in the acquired shares. For fund vehicles managed by Forge Global Advisors LLC, investors receive K-1s reflecting allocable share of fund-level income, gain, loss, deduction, and credit — subject to passive-activity rules, at-risk limitations, and potential phantom income.
For custodial accounts holding direct shares through Forge Trust Co., the trust company's standard tax document practices apply..
Limitation
Tax treatment for direct purchases depends heavily on share class (Common vs. Preferred), Rule 144 restrictions, and the investor's cost basis. QSBS exclusion under Section 1202 may be available for certain investments in qualifying companies. Fund vehicle tax complexity depends on the specific fund structure — investors should request fund offering documents and consult a tax advisor experienced in private equity.
Special Considerations
UBTI Risk
For fund vehicles managed by Forge Global Advisors LLC: UBTI risk exists for tax-exempt investors (IRAs, endowments) if the fund uses leverage. Review specific fund offering documents. For Forge Trust Co. custodial IRA accounts holding direct private company shares: UBTI risk is generally lower unless the account uses margin (which would be unusual for private securities).
UDFI Risk
For fund vehicles in IRA accounts: UDFI arises if the fund borrows to finance acquisitions. Review fund offering documents before placing IRA capital in any Forge-managed fund.
- Investors combining multiple Forge products (direct marketplace purchases + fund investments + custodial accounts) face multi-source, multi-entity tax reporting obligations. Coordinating tax documents from Forge Securities LLC, Forge Global Advisors LLC, and Forge Trust Co. in a single tax year adds meaningful administrative complexity.
- The multi-entity structure means tax documents may arrive from different Forge subsidiaries on different timelines. K-1 timing for fund vehicles managed by Forge Global Advisors LLC was not found in public materials and requires direct inquiry.
- Forge's integration with Dwolla for payment processing means ACH transaction records exist as a supplementary source for cost basis documentation on marketplace transactions.
Account Suitability
Taxable
Well-suited for marketplace transactions when the investor can tolerate multi-year illiquidity. For fund vehicles, K-1 partnership treatment is standard but adds complexity. The Forge Price data and quarterly Investment Outlook reports provide better market intelligence for tax-year planning than most competitors.
Roth IRA
Best-in-class for private equity IRAs among accessible platforms — Forge Trust Co. eliminates the need to find a third-party self-directed IRA custodian. Confirmed fee structure: $50 setup + $200/year account fee + $48/year per private company position (Type 2 asset) + $40/transaction. Annual fixed cost for one private company holding: ~$248. Effective annual drag: 4.96% on a $5,000 Forge Fund minimum position; 0.24% on a $100,000 direct trade. UBTI/UDFI analysis required for leveraged Forge Fund vehicles held in IRA. Position sizes of $50,000+ make the custodial cost negligible.
Traditional IRA
Same Forge Trust Co. fee structure as Roth. Tax-deferred compounding benefit exists but Roth treatment is superior for high-appreciation private equity positions. All UBTI/UDFI considerations from Roth IRA apply equally here.
HSA
Not suitable. HSA custodians do not accommodate private securities or alternative investments.
Before You Invest
Get Forge Global investor insights before you invest
K-1 timing, distribution updates, yield insights, and risk signals for Forge Global and similar platforms.
- Weekly platform research focused on tax timing and liquidity reality.
- Signals on distributions, risks, and structural tradeoffs before capital is locked up.
- Coverage of adjacent platforms so you can compare better options faster.
AltStreet Data Layer
What the data actually shows
AltStreet documented 105 funded Forge Investments LLC SPVs totaling $1.285B raised spanning August 2016 to March 2026. Key findings:
FG-BLU: $397M from 148 investors — largest single secondary SPV in AltStreet dataset
Fund FG-BLU raised $397.3M from 148 investors (avg check $2.7M, first sale March 2024) — larger than EquityZen's entire documented four-fund total ($230.8M) and larger than Hiive's entire dataset ($342.7M). Underlying company not disclosed in Form D.
What this means
A $397M block at $2.7M average check is institutional allocation, not retail. Retail accredited investors accessing Forge Fund SPVs at $5K minimum are in a structurally different product than the institutional marketplace generating FG-BLU-scale transactions.
10-year documented deal flow — longest dataset in AltStreet
FG-RTA first sale August 2016; FG-GRT March 2026. Covers the 2017-2021 unicorn boom, 2022-2023 correction, and 2024-2026 AI recovery. Minimum investment dropped from $100K (2017-2020 era) to $5K (2024-2026) reflecting the democratization push validated by the Schwab acquisition.
What this means
Forge's historical deal flow provides vintage context unavailable for Hiive (2024-only) or EquityZen (2018-only). The minimum investment evolution in the data tells the story of Forge's strategic pivot from pure institutional to retail-accessible.
FG-LRN ($227M, 2019) and FG-NAS ($66M, 2019) — 2019 vintage approaching exit horizon
These large 2019 institutional blocks are now 6-7 years old. If they held companies that have since IPO'd or been acquired, distributions may have occurred. Distribution status is unconfirmed — no public disclosure exists.
What this means
AltStreet will track distribution disclosures for 2019 vintage Forge SPVs as they become public. These are the most likely candidates for first confirmed exit data in the Forge dataset.
EQ-DGO: possible EquityZen-origin vehicle in Forge's filing history
Fund EQ-DGO uses the EQ prefix rather than standard FG prefix, first sale September 2017, raised $31.7M from 78 investors. Possible EquityZen-origin vehicle transferred to Forge via the 2020 SharesPost merger or another corporate action. Flagged in platform notes pending verification.
What this means
Treat EQ-DGO as a data anomaly. AltStreet notes field updated; will be resolved when provenance is confirmed.
Data as of 2026-04-30 . AltStreet review evidence layer . Public-source analysis
Full datasetDecision Fit
Investor Fit
Who this works for, who it does not, and what level of patience and complexity tolerance the platform really demands.
institutional
Forge is the most complete institutional private market infrastructure platform accessible at the retail level. Institutional investors benefit from the full platform stack: marketplace transactions, Forge Data subscription for price intelligence, fund vehicles through Forge Global Advisors LLC, custodial services through Forge Trust Co., and quarterly Investment Outlook reports.
The Yahoo Finance integration signals Forge's ambition to become the default private market data standard, which benefits institutional participants who need broadly recognized pricing benchmarks..
retail
Accredited retail investors can access Forge's marketplace, but the platform's institutional orientation means the experience of buying shares is substantially less streamlined than Hiive's order book or EquityZen's packaged SPV access. The undisclosed fee structure requires direct engagement with a transaction specialist.
For retail investors who primarily want to buy shares in specific companies and understand their costs upfront, Hiive or EquityZen may be more appropriate starting points. Forge becomes more valuable as an investor's private market activity scales and they need the full range of data, fund, and custodial services..
ESG / Climate SaaS Providers
ESG or thematic investors can identify relevant companies across Forge's broad company coverage (thousands of private companies tracked), and Forge's data products (FPMI sector data, quarterly Investment Outlook sector breakdowns) provide meaningful thematic intelligence. However, no ESG or thematic filtering tools are available in public platform materials.
The breadth of Forge's data coverage makes it a better research platform for thematic investing than any competitor — but the transaction execution pathway still requires specialist engagement..
Tradeoffs
Key Tradeoffs
The attraction of pre-IPO access is real, but every benefit comes bundled with a corresponding liquidity, transparency, or pricing cost.
Platform Breadth vs. Retail Accessibility
Forge is the most complete private market platform — marketplace + data + funds + custody — but its institutional orientation makes it more complex for retail accredited investors than Hiive or EquityZen. The value of Forge's full platform stack compounds for investors who use all four capabilities; for those who only want to buy shares, simpler platforms may offer a better experience..
Institutional Pricing Model vs. Retail Expectation
Forge's fee structure — 2-5% commission confirmed, exact rate set in commission agreement, third-party costs not quantified — is standard institutional broker-dealer practice. Institutional investors expect to negotiate fees with specialists.
Retail accredited investors expect to see a rate before they engage. The result is a real usability cost: you cannot fully model net return before speaking to a broker.
Investors should consciously decide whether they can work within that friction before choosing Forge over Hiive (Form CRS confirms 5%/6.8% max publicly) or EquityZen (published tiered schedule, buyer-only)..
Forge Price vs. Hiive Live Order Book
Forge Price covers more companies and has a longer historical record, integrates with Yahoo Finance, and provides broader market intelligence. Hiive's live order book shows actual bids and asks and is more directly actionable for execution decisions.
Investors who need to understand where they can actually transact should use Hiive's order book; investors who need broader market intelligence and company coverage should use Forge's data platform..
Custodial Services vs. External Custodian
Forge Trust Co.'s integrated custody eliminates the need for a separate self-directed IRA custodian — a genuine structural advantage for tax-advantaged account holders. Hiive and EquityZen require investors to find their own custodians for IRA-held private securities, which is a real friction point that most custodians make difficult..
Data Quality vs. Executable Pricing
Forge Price is the most widely distributed private company pricing data (Yahoo Finance integration, hundreds of companies) but is explicitly not an executable price. Hiive's order book is a live market with real bids and asks but covers fewer companies.
For market intelligence and benchmarking, Forge is superior. For execution, Hiive provides clearer pricing signals..
Avoid
Who This Is Not For
This section should be read as a filter, not an afterthought. If you need income, simplicity, or near-term access to capital, the structure is working against you.
Investors who need a single disclosed fee rate before deciding to transact
Forge's 2-5% direct secondary brokerage fee range is now confirmed, but the specific rate for any transaction depends on deal size, complexity, and client relationship — and is set in the commission agreement, not advertised in advance. Additionally, third-party costs (transfer fees, legal opinions, escrow) are not quantified publicly and add material all-in friction above the stated commission.
If you need to know total cost well enough to model return before engaging a broker, Forge is a poor fit. Hiive (Form CRS confirms 5%/6.8% maximums) and EquityZen (published tiered schedule, buyer-only) provide more upfront rate certainty..
Investors who want live order book pricing before placing a bid
Forge Price is a derived, daily-calculated data product that explicitly does not represent an executable price. Investors who need to see real bids and asks before entering a transaction should use Hiive's live order book alongside Forge Price for context..
Investors who need capital returned within 3-5 years
No guaranteed exit mechanism exists before a company liquidity event. Secondary resale through the Forge marketplace is possible but requires transaction specialist engagement and company approval.
All positions should be underwritten as illiquid before a company event..
Non-accredited investors (buyers)
US securities law restricts purchases of unregistered private securities to accredited investors. Employee-sellers may use the Forge platform to sell their own shares regardless of accreditation status..
Capital preservation or income investors
Pre-IPO equity is highly speculative with binary outcomes. No interim income distributions occur before a liquidity event.
The asset class is appropriate only for capital with genuine long-horizon loss tolerance..
Editorial View
AltStreet Perspective
The compressed version of the review: what matters, what marketing tends to obscure, and how we would frame the platform for a serious allocator.
Verdict
Most investors expect the transaction experience to match the data experience. On Forge, it doesn't. The data layer — Forge Price on hundreds of companies, FPMI benchmarks, Yahoo Finance distribution, quarterly Investment Outlook — is genuinely institutional-grade and the most comprehensive in the market. The transaction layer requires specialist engagement, commission agreements, undisclosed third-party costs, and 30-45 day ROFR windows. If you understand that going in — it is one of the most powerful private market platforms accessible at the retail level. If you don't — it will frustrate you.
Positioning
Forge sits above Hiive and EquityZen in platform breadth, data quality, regulatory completeness, and IRA custody infrastructure. It sits below Hiive in live execution transparency and below EquityZen in retail-packaged simplicity. Use Forge for private market intelligence and when you need custodial services, institutional fund access, or SEC-registered investment adviser oversight. Use Hiive for a live order book and disclosed fees. Use EquityZen for the simplest buyer-only fee structure with ROFR protection built in.
The Bottom Line
Forge gives you institutional-grade data and the backing of Charles Schwab — but requires institutional-style engagement to actually transact.
Action
Next Steps
If you still want to engage after reading the review, these are the practical next moves that reduce avoidable mistakes.
Before initiating any transaction, contact a Forge transaction specialist to confirm: (1) the specific commission rate for your transaction (the confirmed 2-5% range tiers down for larger trades and repeat clients); (2) an itemized estimate of third-party costs — transfer agent fees, legal opinion, and escrow — which are not included in the stated brokerage rate; and (3) whether a Forge Fund SPV is available for your target company (1-2% placement fee, no third-party add-ons, faster settlement, ROFR handled at fund level).
Understand which Forge entity you are contracting with for each service: Forge Securities LLC (marketplace transactions), Forge Global Advisors LLC (fund products), or Forge Trust Co. (custodial services). Each has different regulatory protections, disclosures, and terms of service.
Use Forge Price as one data input among several — not as a transaction entry price. Cross-reference against the company's most recent primary round valuation, available comparable transactions, and (where available) Hiive's live order book.
If you are considering Forge Trust Co.
for a self-directed IRA, the confirmed fee structure is: $50 one-time setup + $200/year account fee + $12/quarter per private company position (Type 2) + $40/transaction. Annual fixed cost for one private company position: ~$248. Economically efficient for positions above $50,000 (sub-0.5% annual drag); expensive at the $5,000 Forge Fund minimum (~5% annual drag). Size your IRA position accordingly.
For fund vehicles managed by Forge Global Advisors LLC, request the full offering documents to confirm fee structure (management fees, carried interest), K-1 timing and anticipated delays, leverage usage (UBTI/UDFI implications for IRA investors), and distribution policy.
Review Forge's Disclaimers and Disclosures page (forgeglobal.com/disclaimers-and-disclosures) before any transaction — it contains material limitations on the use of Forge Price data and platform information that affect how you should interpret every company stock page.
Verify Forge Securities LLC independently on FINRA BrokerCheck before transferring any capital.
Consult a tax advisor experienced in private equity before investing in any Forge product — particularly if combining marketplace shares, fund investments, and custodial accounts in the same tax year.
AltStreet Weekly
We track exit data others don't
Join the AltStreet newsletter for verified exits, fee friction, liquidity signals, and side-by-side platform analysis as new reviews go live.
No spam. Just alternative-investment research when it is useful.
Appendix
Sources, Disclosures, and Supporting Context
The lower section is structured like a report appendix: relationship context first, adjacent reading second, and evidence last.
Report Appendix
Disclosure
Relationship and compensation context
+
Report Appendix
Disclosure
Relationship and compensation context
Report Appendix
Related Resources
Adjacent platform comparisons, frameworks, and category links
+
Report Appendix
Related Resources
Adjacent platform comparisons, frameworks, and category links
Further Reading
Related Resources
Adjacent frameworks and reviews that help place the platform in a broader allocation or due-diligence context.
Explore Asset Class
Private Company Equity - Late-Stage Pre-IPODeep Dive Guide
Understanding Pre-IPO Secondary MarketsSimilar Platform Reviews
- Hiive
Live order book with real bids/asks; disclosed 5%/6.8% max fees; 0% management fee Hiive Funds SPVs; best for active price discovery
- EquityZen
2.5% buyer-only fee (post-Morgan Stanley acquisition February 2026); ROFR handled at platform level; Morgan Stanley-owned; $5K minimum; simpler SPV access
Report Appendix
Evidence & Methodology
Sources, scope, and how the review was assembled
+
Report Appendix
Evidence & Methodology
Sources, scope, and how the review was assembled
ASReview Evidence
Methodology
Full-site dossier scrape (104 pages, April 23 2026) supplemented by Forge Terms of Use (Version 20250620), Forge Disclaimers and Disclosures (Version 2003), Forge Privacy Policy (Version 20250620), Forge Q4 2024 Investment Outlook, Forge Late-Stage Private Companies report (October 9, 2025), Forge Private Market Index (FPMI) methodology, Forge Price™ disclaimers, Yahoo Finance partnership press release (March 25, 2025), and individual company stock pages confirming live Forge Price data as of April 23, 2026.
Scope
Covers multi-entity regulatory structure (broker-dealer, investment adviser, trust company), Forge Price methodology and limitations, FPMI composition and performance data, private market scale tracked ($4.1T as of Q3 2025), Yahoo Finance integration, fee disclosure gap, ROFR risk acknowledgment, fund vehicle structure, custodial services, and structural comparison with Hiive and EquityZen.
Key Findings
- *Forge Securities LLC: SEC-registered broker-dealer, FINRA member, SIPC member confirmed in Disclaimers and Disclosures
- *Forge Global Advisors LLC: SEC-registered investment adviser, ~$2.46B AUM across 122+ fund series as of end 2025 confirmed
- *Forge Trust Co.: South Dakota chartered trust company confirmed in Disclaimers and Disclosures
- *Forge Global, Inc. (parent): explicitly NOT registered with SEC, FINRA, or state securities authorities confirmed in Disclaimers
- *Forge Price™: 'may rely on a very limited number of inputs' and 'does not necessarily represent the market price' confirmed in all stock page disclaimers
- *Brokerage fees: direct secondary 2-5% (Form CRS maximum 5%) confirmed; Forge Fund SPV 1-2% placement fee confirmed; Forge Pro negotiated confirmed
- *Third-party costs (transfer agent, legal opinion, escrow) acknowledged in Disclaimers and Disclosures; not quantified publicly
- *Direct secondary minimum $100,000 standard ($50,000 limited cases) confirmed; Forge Fund minimum $5,000 confirmed; institutional $1M+ confirmed
- *ROFR window 30-45 calendar days confirmed; ~8% exercise rate at Q1 2023 market trough confirmed; trending upward through Q2 2024 confirmed
- *Forge Fund SPV ROFR typically handled at fund-creation level confirmed — bypasses per-investor ROFR exposure
- *Forge Trust Co. fee schedule confirmed: $50 setup + $200/year + $12/quarter per Type 2 asset + $40/transaction; $500 minimum cash balance
- *Direct secondary settlement 30-45 calendar days confirmed; Forge Fund settlement 1-5 days confirmed
- *Median bid-ask spread 6.4% as of Q2 2024 (historic low); 3-year median 11.4%; PDE benchmark ~12% confirmed
- *Buy-side IOIs 55.2% of platform activity in early 2024 confirmed
- *K-1 delivery late March to mid-April target; 90-day internal window; extension common confirmed
- *$4.1T total private company valuation tracked as of Q3 2025 confirmed in Late-Stage report
- *7.8% of S&P 500 market cap as of Q3 2025 confirmed in Late-Stage report
- *FPMI: 75.6% L12M, 8.6% L3Y, 19.3% L5Y, 22.4% since inception as of September 30, 2025 confirmed
- *Yahoo Finance partnership announced March 25, 2025 confirmed
- *65.7% median annual appreciation for unicorns from unicorn status to IPO (56 companies 2019-2025) confirmed
- *Live Forge Price data as of April 23, 2026: Anthropic $259.14, Databricks $196.31, Discord $31.36, Ramp $94.17 confirmed
- *32% down-round rate Q3 2024 confirmed; average markdown -16.1% confirmed
Primary Source Pages
Comparable Platforms
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
High-intent search questions answered directly, without making users hunt through the full review.
What is Forge Global and how does it work?
Forge Global is a multi-product private market platform operating through three separately registered entities: Forge Securities LLC (SEC-registered broker-dealer, FINRA/SIPC member) for marketplace transactions; Forge Global Advisors LLC (SEC-registered investment adviser) for fund products; and Forge Trust Co. (South Dakota chartered trust company) for custodial services. Accredited investors can buy and sell pre-IPO company shares through the Forge marketplace, access Forge Price data on hundreds of private companies, invest in fund vehicles, and hold private securities in custodial accounts. Brokerage fees are not publicly disclosed and require engaging a transaction specialist.
What is Forge Price and how reliable is it?
Forge Price™ is a proprietary data product calculated daily by Forge Data LLC for hundreds of pre-IPO private companies. It is derived from secondary market transactions, indications of interest (IOIs), and other data points on the Forge platform and other platforms. Forge explicitly states that Forge Price 'may rely on a very limited number of inputs in its calculation,' 'is not intended to, and does not necessarily, represent the market price of any securities,' and 'is not the price at which you could buy or sell.' For companies with low trading activity, a Forge Price may be calculated from a single IOI. Forge Price should be used as a directional reference data point, not as an executable transaction price.
What are Forge's fees?
Forge Securities LLC brokerage fees are tiered and success-based: direct secondary transactions cost 2-5% of transaction value (Form CRS maximum 5%), with larger trades, repeat clients, and Forge Pro institutional accounts qualifying for lower rates. Forge Fund SPV investments carry a 1-2% one-time placement fee plus management fees and carried interest per specific fund documents (industry standard ~20% carried interest). Additionally, direct secondary trades incur third-party costs absent from public market trading: transfer agent fees, legal opinion costs to verify registration exemption, and escrow fees — these are not quantified publicly and add all-in friction above the stated commission. Forge Trust Co. SDIRA custody fees: $50 setup + $200/year + $48/year per private company position + $40/transaction. No subscription or platform access fee.
How does Forge differ from Hiive and EquityZen?
Forge is best understood as institutional private market infrastructure. It offers a marketplace plus data products (Forge Price, FPMI index, quarterly Investment Outlook, Yahoo Finance integration), fund management (Forge Global Advisors LLC, SEC-registered investment adviser), and private securities custody (Forge Trust Co.) — capabilities that Hiive and EquityZen do not offer. Hiive offers a live order book with disclosed brokerage fees (up to 5% buyer / 6.8% seller) and the strongest live price discovery. EquityZen offers the most retail-accessible packaged SPV entry with a 2.5% buyer-only fee (post-Morgan Stanley acquisition February 2026) and ROFR protection built in. Investors who primarily want to buy shares in specific companies may find Hiive or EquityZen simpler starting points. Investors who need the full range of private market services — trading, data, fund access, and custody — Forge is the most complete platform.
What is the Forge Private Market Index (FPMI)?
The FPMI is an equal-weight index of mid- and late-stage private companies tracked by Forge. It reported 75.6% over the last 12 months and 22.4% since inception (January 2019) as of September 30, 2025. The FPMI is a broad-based index — in Q3 2024, 41% of constituent companies showed price decreases, with an average markdown of -16.1%, and one company (Exabeam) contributed a -100% decline. The FPMI includes both strong performers and significant losers, making it a more representative private market benchmark than indices that track only the most liquid names (like Hiive's Hiive50). Index performance does not include transaction costs, fees, or taxes.
What is Forge's ROFR situation?
The ROFR window on Forge is 30-45 calendar days. The confirmed platform-level exercise rate was ~8% at the Q1 2023 market trough — meaning roughly 1 in 12 successfully matched direct trades was acquired by the company itself. This rate was under 3% in the 2021 bull market and trended upward through Q2 2024. A high ROFR exercise rate is paradoxically bullish: it signals insiders believe the secondary price undervalues the company. Forge Fund SPVs typically bypass per-investor ROFR — the fund entity handles ROFR at the fund-creation level, so individual SPV investors are not exposed to a ROFR window. For direct secondary buyers, ask the Forge specialist for any available ROFR history on your specific target company.
Does Forge offer custodial services for private securities?
Yes. Forge Trust Co. supports Traditional, Roth, SEP, SIMPLE IRAs and Individual 401(k)s. Confirmed fee structure: $50 one-time setup + $200/year account fee ($50/quarter) + $12/quarter per private company asset (Type 2) + $40/transaction for buys and sells. Annual fixed cost for one private company position: ~$248. Annual drag on a $5,000 Forge Fund position: ~4.96%; on a $100,000 direct trade: ~0.24%. Minimum cash balance: $500 ($100 for Coverdell ESAs); $15/quarter penalty below minimum. $150 account termination fee; $25 domestic wire fee. This is a structural advantage over Hiive and EquityZen, which require finding third-party SDIRA custodians. UBTI/UDFI analysis still required for leveraged fund vehicles held in IRA.
What is the Yahoo Finance partnership?
In March 2025, Forge and Yahoo Finance announced an industry-first partnership embedding Forge Price data directly in Yahoo Finance's platform for all US users. This allows investors to compare private company pricing data alongside public company data on Yahoo Finance without requiring a Forge account. Forge Price appears on company pages within Yahoo Finance for hundreds of late-stage private companies. This makes Forge the de facto private market data standard for retail investors who use public financial platforms.
What does Forge's research say about the private market?
Forge's October 2025 institutional research report documented that: total mid- and late-stage private company value tracked by Forge grew from $421B in 2015 to $4.1T as of Q3 2025 (7.8% of S&P 500 market cap); secondary market volume grew approximately 4x over the past decade; the median annual appreciation for unicorns from unicorn status to IPO was 65.7% (for 56 companies that went public 2019-2025); and the median age of a company launching an IPO was 13.5 years in 2024, up from 4 years in 1999. These data points support the investment thesis for late-stage private market exposure but should be read with survivorship bias in mind — companies that failed or were acquired at low valuations are underrepresented.
Is Forge Global legitimate and regulated?
Yes. Forge operates through three separately registered entities: Forge Securities LLC is an SEC-registered broker-dealer and FINRA/SIPC member; Forge Global Advisors LLC is an SEC-registered investment adviser; and Forge Trust Co. is a South Dakota chartered trust company. Note that Forge Global, Inc. (the parent software entity) is explicitly not registered with the SEC, FINRA, or any state securities authority and does not engage in securities activities itself — only the registered subsidiaries do. All registrations are independently verifiable through FINRA BrokerCheck, the SEC's EDGAR/IAPD database, and South Dakota banking records.
What is the minimum investment on Forge?
Forge has a tiered minimum structure: direct secondary transactions require $100,000 standard minimum ($50,000 in limited cases where issuers permit smaller allocations). Forge Fund SPV investments are accessible at $5,000 minimum — the lowest entry point on the platform. Institutional bids are typically $1,000,000+. For the $5,000 Forge Fund minimum, be aware that Forge Trust Co. SDIRA custody fees create ~5% annual drag on a $5,000 position — size IRA allocations accordingly.