Office address: 200 West Street, New York, NY 10282
Website: goldmansachs.com
Year established: 1869
Company type: financial services
Employees: 46,000+
Expertise: investment banking, asset management, wealth management, capital markets, M&A advisory, equities trading, fixed income, private equity, digital banking, transaction banking
Parent company: N/A
Key people: David Solomon (CEO), John Waldron (COO), Denis Coleman (CFO), John F.W. Rogers (EVP), Alex Golten (chief risk officer), Carey Halio (global treasurer), Sheara Fredman (chief accounting officer)
Financing status: corporation
Goldman Sachs is a global financial services firm based in New York. The company offers investment banking, asset management, wealth management, and digital banking, managing over $2 trillion in assets. With more than 46,000 employees, it is known for its top-rated expertise and strong client relationships.
Goldman Sachs traces its story back to 1869, when Marcus Goldman set up a small office in Lower Manhattan. He offered local merchants a new way to get credit by buying their promissory notes, which helped shape the commercial paper business.
By the late 1800s, the firm had become Goldman, Sachs & Co. It also joined the NYSE in 1896 and gained a reputation for financial innovation.
Over the twentieth century, Goldman Sachs expanded across the US and into Europe, building a strong investment banking business. The firm introduced the price-to-earnings ratio as a new way to value companies, which became an industry standard. In the 1930s, Sidney Weinberg led the firm through the Great Depression and helped it become a top player in underwriting and trading.
The firm kept growing by opening offices in London, Tokyo, and Zurich in the 1970s while also acquiring J. Aron & Company in 1981. In 1999, Goldman Sachs became a public company, trading on the NYSE under the ticker GS.
The 2000s brought new challenges, but the firm stayed strong. It moved into new headquarters at 200 West Street and launched major initiatives like 10,000 Women and 10,000 Small Businesses.
In recent years, the company has focused on technology and consumer banking, launching Marcus and partnering with Apple for the Apple Card. The firm has also committed to sustainability and diversity, with major investments in climate and inclusive growth.
In 2024, Goldman Sachs announced a $1 billion stake in T. Rowe Price, a leading asset management firm. The firm aimed to create new investment options for retirement clients and financial advisors through the partnership.
Goldman Sachs offers a wide range of financial products designed for institutional, corporate, and individual clients. Its solutions include:
These offerings are supported by advanced technology, global resources, and a strong focus on client service. Goldman Sachs also invests in sustainable finance and digital innovation to supplement its core products.
Goldman Sachs states that its culture is driven by teamwork and a focus on collective achievement. The company reports that collaboration and a sense of belonging are central to its approach. Its values are:
According to the company, employees have access to coaching, mentorship, and a range of benefits:
Goldman Sachs also welcomes over 2,600 new analysts and associates to more than 60 offices each summer. Students participate in programs and events that offer real-world business exposure and networking opportunities.
David Solomon is the chairperson and CEO of Goldman Sachs and chairs the board of directors. Before this, Solomon was president and COO, and earlier led investment banking and financing groups. He also chairs Hamilton College’s board and serves on boards for the Robin Hood Foundation, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, and the Paley Center for Media.
The executive team at Goldman Sachs leads the firm’s strategy and daily operations:
Goldman Sachs’s leadership team focuses on strong performance and responsible management for clients, shareholders, and employees.
Goldman Sachs released a report showing family offices are investing heavily in men’s sports, with far less interest in women’s leagues. It found that family offices are about four times more likely to invest in men’s sports than in women’s. By tracking these trends and advising on large deals, the firm helps clients find new opportunities in the growing sports investment market.
Goldman Sachs Asset Management also released a study showing that alternative investments grow more popular as wealth increases, especially among millennials. The report shows 91 percent of $20 million households use alternatives, and millennials allocate 20 percent to them. The company continues to share these findings to guide clients and advisors on market trends and private investment opportunities.
Despite a tepid response from plan sponsors, asset management firms continue to develop and promote annuity-enhanced target date funds, insisting that demand for retirement income will spur interest.
The removal of uncertainty regarding Congress's financial reform bill may reinforce the employment rebound as some bankers are being offered guaranteed bonuses.
The Charles Schwab Corp.'s effort to drum up business in its newly launched stable of exchange-traded funds by waiving commissions for its clients continues to draw intense interest from its competitors and advisers. At two separate conferences Wednesday, questions were raised about Schwab's ground-breaking decision with various levels of concern.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has retreated even further from the life settlements arena, shutting down Longmore Capital, its life settlements provider, according to reports.
Morgan Stanley Chief Executive Officer James Gorman, who took over from John Mack in January, said he's not content with results for last year, when the company reported its first per-share annual loss.
Macro events such European debt issues, regulatory rhetoric and high unemployment all create opportunities.
Finra-backed candidates who represent large and midsize firms are running unopposed so far in the regulator's upcoming board election, but a battle is brewing for three open small-firm seats.
Arlen Specter wants to dramatically ratchet up the standard of care required of broker-dealers. Part of that ratcheting up: a possible 25 year jail sentence for B-Ds who willfully violate the tougher standard.
European pension funds and their equity managers are ratcheting up exposure to the U.S.
Legg Mason Inc.'s Bill Miller said he is sticking with his bets on Goldman Sachs Group Inc. because the fallout from the fraud accusations against the bank will probably be limited.
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. is actively investigating broker-dealer underwriters of subprime securities, a Finra official said this morning at the regulator's national conference in Baltimore.
Federal regulators on Monday filed civil fraud charges against an investment adviser and his firm in connection with complex securities tied to mortgages during the housing market bust.
The fate of a universal fiduciary standard for brokers and financial advisers hinges on the outcome of House-Senate negotiations over the most dramatic overhaul of financial regulations since the 1930s.
Congress' proposed overhaul of U.S. bank regulation wouldn't have averted the 2008 financial crisis and would do little to prevent a recurrence, according to two former chairmen of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
A number of mutual funds placed sizable bets on Goldman Sachs -- bets that have been walloped by the SEC's suit against the Wall Street titan
