After his attempts in consumer finance failed, Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon announced Tuesday that asset management and wealth management would be the bank’s growth engines. “The real story of opportunity for growth for us in the coming years is around asset management and wealth management,” Solomon told CNBC’s, Andrew Ross Sorkin. Solomon added that Goldman was already the fifth-biggest active asset manager in the world. “There’s real opportunity across the firm for us to continue to make the firm more durable,” Solomon said. He also acknowledged that the company didn’t “execute well” on parts of his consumer push but added that management would reflect and learn from the episode.
Shares of the New York-based company slipped 3% in midday trading. Goldman was scheduled to hold its second-ever investor day later Tuesday. The firm released a slideshow for the event online, giving updated targets for growth in its asset and wealth management division and a 2025 break-even target for its money-losing platform solutions division. It also reiterated its target for a 15% to 17% return on tangible equity, a key metric tracked by bank investors. Solomon stated during his opening remarks at Goldman’s investor conference that the bank was considering “strategic alternatives” for its consumer platforms. Consequently, Goldman may further retrench from retail banking if it decides to sell GreenSky lending, which it purchased just last year for $2.24 billion, or restructure its card agreements with Apple or General Motors.
