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.
The firm is announcing an initiative, the Equity Collective, in which wealth and asset management firms commit to working with career-focused community organizations to reach young people from more diverse backgrounds.
The firm is also taking an equity stake in BondNav's operator, InspereX.
As fund companies start to post annual tax distributions, more than 110 funds are already showing capital gains distributions of more than 20%.
The bank is exiting the hedge fund business after the implosion of Archegos cost it billions of dollars and will shift more resources to wealth management.
The combined companies will administer more than $700 million in assets for more than 150,000 retirement plans.
The companies say their aim is to allow advisers to manage alternative investments in one place
The Goldman Sachs Workplace Retirement Solution uses the Ascensus platform to provide an integrated 401(k) or 403(b) plan that includes digital advice and digital financial wellness support.
The deal would catapult Vestwell to serving as program manager for nearly $20 billion, with the acquisition adding about 800,000 participants and 17,000 small employers to its book of business.
The asset manager is expanding into private equity with the acquisition of Lexington, which is a big player in the booming secondaries market, which involves buying maturing portfolios from PE investors.
Record allocations by households, foreign investors, mutual and pension funds are set to climb even higher in 2022, Goldman strategists led by David Kostin wrote in a note Friday.
This month’s #AdviserTech roundup includes Franklin Templeton’s purchase of O’Shaughnessy Asset Management and its Canvas direct index platform; Morningstar’s acquisition of Moorgate Benchmarks; Betterment for Advisors’ shift from TAMP to RIA custodian competitor; and the SEC’s inquiry into when fintech-driven nudges become bona fide investment advice.
The firm's trading operation posted a 23% increase in revenue, while its consumer and wealth management business pulled in $2.02 billion, up 16% from a year earlier.
The two main challenges to growth in the medium-term were a slowing of fiscal support and the need for spending on services. The declines were mostly offset by upgrades to projections for the following two years.
European investment managers beginning to drop "ESG integrated" from company filings company filings amid concern that regulators will no longer tolerate vague descriptions.
The chain reaction to the Chinese property owner's woes may say more about the extreme attitude of global risk assets than it does about economic contagion.
