Goldman Sachs weighs sale of part of its wealth business

NEW YORK: Goldman Sachs is weighing the sale of a part of its wealth business, it said on Monday, as it shifts its focus back to serving the ultra-rich and away from high-net-worth clients in mass markets.

The Wall Street bank is evaluating alternatives for its registered investment adviser (RIA) unit, called Personal Financial Management (PFM), which manages about $29 billion, it said in a statement.

The move comes as Goldman retreats from its consumer operations, which lost $3 billion in the last three years, and pushes ahead with a sale of its fintech business, GreenSky.

Goldman bought the RIA, formerly known as United Capital Financial Partners, for $750 million in 2019 when it managed about $25 billion in funds. The purchase aimed to broaden Goldman’s client list beyond the ultra-rich, but the unit has remained a small part of the bank’s wealth business.

Goldman’s private wealth arm oversees $1 trillion in assets for ultra-high net worth clients.

RIABiz reported earlier on the possible sale.

The potential divestments come after CEO David Solomon reorganized the firm into three units last year and scaled back ambitions for its loss-making consumer business.

“This is part of the overall restructuring of the firm, back toward its roots,” said Stephen Biggar, an analyst at Argus Research.

“They’ve been unable to carve a path of profitability and scale” for the RIA, which catered to high-net-worth individuals in mass markets outside of Goldman’s core, ultra-wealthy clientele, Biggar said.

Goldman declined to comment on PFM’s earnings.

The company’s shares slipped 0.9% in early trading, compared with the S&P index of bank stocks, which was broadly stable.