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.
Even during his most frenzied days, when Congress is demanding answers or the president himself is calling, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner makes time to talk to a select group of powerful Wall Street bankers.
The Achilles heel of hedge funds — tax inefficiency — could soon send investors limping toward other options.
Institutional investors are examining every aspect of their fund-of-hedge-funds portfolios and the managers in charge of them in the wake of the performance debacle of 2008, liquidity problems and the seismic shock of Bernard L. Madoff's massive Ponzi scheme.
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. is investigating whether broker-dealers are meeting their obligations to municipal-bond issuers who seek distribution to retail investors.
Regulators and legislators clashed with members of the life settlements industry at a congressional hearing today that focused on the risks and merits of life settlements securitization.
Judging by the recent 2009 Moss Adams/ InvestmentNews Adviser Compensation and Staffing Study, financial planning, investment advisory and independent-brokerage firms could teach companies in many other fields how to manage in tough times.
Genworth Financial Inc. yesterday kicked off a $500 million public stock offering of its Class A shares.
President warned financial titans on Monday — the first anniversary of the Lehman Brothers collapse — they could not count on any more bailouts.
Tighter regulation on investment banks will force firms to cut salaries, eliminate staff and reduce capital commitments to the business, according to research from JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Fifteen big banks that dominate worldwide trading of derivatives have committed to greater transparency in a $600 trillion market that regulators say needs stricter oversight to protect the global financial system.
A Goldman Sachs analyst today upgraded his sector rating for midsized brokerages, saying an expected resurgence of corporate mergers and acquisitions as well as initial public offerings should lift the firms.
A decade-long rise in commodities prices — the so-called supercycle — is about to resume, market bulls say, driven by rising industrial demand, a weaker dollar and production constraints.
A former member of the National Economic Council under President Bush has launched a boutique investment advisory firm, according to published reports.
