Secretive Capital Group Plots a Flashy Pivot to Private Markets

Capital Group succeeded in keeping a low profile for almost a century, not even posting a sign outside its sprawling Los Angeles headquarters to call attention to its presence, as it offered millions of investors an array of mutual funds branded with a different humdrum name.

But over much of the past decade, the firm looked on while rivals reinvented themselves and the rise of passive index investing and exchange-traded funds eroded its core business. Now, insiders say the world’s biggest active-only money manager can’t afford to watch from the sidelines any longer.

In a break from its traditionally staid and secretive ...