Once the paragon of white shoe Wall Street, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is turning to its retail divisions to drive growth, Fitch Ratings reports.
Following Goldman’s second-ever investor day, the rating agency said that the firm reiterated its focus on asset and wealth management to drive fee revenue and its overall growth.
Fitch noted that the asset and wealth management division reported a compound annual growth rate of 11% for assets under administration, and reported that the firm is aiming to hit US$10 billion in annual fee revenue from that segment by 2024, up from US$8.8 billion last year.
The performance of the asset and wealth management businesses are also key to Goldman’s overall return on equity (ROE) goals for the entire firm, and its capital objectives, it noted.
“Growth in [asset and wealth management’s] contribution to total net revenues, as well as continued growth of deposits as a share of total funding, could incrementally enhance [Goldman Sachs’] business profile and improve upside ratings potential over the medium term,” it said.
On the investment banking and trading side, which continues to account for the majority of revenues, Goldman Sachs is aiming to “reduce revenue volatility through an expansion of FICC and equities financing, which represented 22% of segment revenues last year,” Fitch also noted.