Goldman’s Wealth Management Business Emerges as Durable Growth Engine
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.’s GS Asset & Wealth Management (AWM) division is increasingly becoming a core pillar of the firm’s growth strategy, with 2025 results underscoring a steady shift toward more durable, fee-based revenues and lower balance-sheet intensity.
Goldman’s AWM division has become a central pillar of the firm’s strategy, with 2025 results highlighting a continued shift toward more durable, fee-based revenues and lower balance sheet intensity. AWM business generated $14.89 billion in net revenues in 2025, supported by record management and other fees of $11.54 billion. Since 2021, AWM division revenues witnessed a compounded annual growth rate of 12%.
AWM Net Revenues
Image Source: The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.
Lending to wealthy individuals and entrepreneurs has been a key growth driver for the bank. Private banking and lending net revenues reached a record $3.3 billion in 2025, rising 16% from the prior year, as higher net interest margin and improved loan performance boosted the results. Management continues to emphasize lending penetration as a way to deepen client relationships and enhance returns.
Alternative investments remain a defining feature of the platform. Goldman oversees more than $625 billion in alternative assets, including $420 billion in alternative investments AUS, while gross third-party fundraising hit a record $115 billion in 2025. Since 2019, the firm has raised $438 billion in alternatives and expects $75-$100 billion in annual fundraising going forward.
AWM division’s scale continues to expand. Total assets under supervision rose to a record $3.61 trillion in 2025, up $469 billion year over year, driven by market appreciation and net inflows across all client channels. The firm also recorded its 32nd consecutive quarter of long-term fee-based net inflows, underscoring the strength and stickiness of its client base.
Profitability has improved alongside growth. AWM delivered a 25% pre-tax margin and a 12.5% return on equity in 2025. Goldman is targeting high-teens returns for the AWM division and roughly 5% annual growth in long-term fee-based net inflows over the medium term.
As Goldman rebalances away from more capital-intensive businesses, wealth management has emerged as a stabilizing earnings engine. The December 2025 agreement to acquire Innovator Capital Management further expands its ETF capabilities and reinforces the firm’s focus on building diversified, durable revenue streams for its next phase of growth.
Two close peers of GS are JPMorgan JPM and Morgan Stanley MS.
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