January 18, 2023
Louis Diamond Quoted
By Hayley Cuccinello

CEO David Solomon acknowledged that a stronger Wealth and asset management business would have helped the bank weather the storm.

“Would I like it to be further along? Yes,” he said in an earnings call Tuesday. “If it was further along, there would have been less volatility, particularly in the context of this year in the fourth quarter.” One of Solomon’s three key priorities for Goldman Sachs is growing management fees in the asset and Wealth Management arm.

The bank is pulling back on Marcus, its costly consumer banking unit, but other business lines within the division are ripe for growth in the form of hiring and acquisitions down the road. Solomon touted the potential for its workplace wealth offering Ayco in October, but private wealth management is another opportunity.

The private wealth unit is “a crown jewel,” recruiter Louis Diamond told Insider.

“They don’t have a massive advisor force like Merrill, Morgan Stanley, and UBS do, but the advisors they do have are amongst the best in the industry,” he said. “Their advisors are all focused on the ultra-wealthy.”

Goldman Sachs does not break out results for the division, which caters to clients with at least $10 million in investible assets, but private banking and lending revenue reached $753 million last quarter, a 77% increase year over year, about a fifth of the asset and wealth management arm’s total net revenue. (Overall revenue for the wealth and asset management unit dropped 27% due to lower revenue from equity and debt investments.)

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