A wirehouse is a type of broker-dealer that offers a wide range of financial services, such as investment advice, retirement planning, trading and wealth management. Wirehouses can be of any size but are usually large, established firms with a network of brokers or financial advisors, serving high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs), institutions and corporations.

Some of the most well-known wirehouses include Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and J.P. Morgan Chase, which typically generate revenues through advisory fees, commissions on buying and selling securities, or sometimes even performance fees on structured funds.

The name ‘wirehouse’ originated when firms used to rely on telegraph wires or private phone lines to communicate with clients and execute trades. While the technology used to place trades has of course evolved over the years, the term is still widely used today.

While wirehouses can be used by investors of public capital markets to trade stocks, they can also facilitate access to private equity markets, acting as intermediaries between private equity firms and HNWIs or institutions.

Within private equity, wirehouses can source investment opportunities from their extensive networks of private equity firms and fund managers. Using a wirehouse, clients can invest in private equity funds, and make direct investments into private companies or so-called co-investments alongside private equity firms in specific deals.

Wirehouses can also offer private equity portfolio management and due diligence services to assess the risk and return potential of certain investment opportunities, along with analysis, research and advice.