For all you 'poor' people (and you know who we're talking about...all you people with only around $1 million of liquid investable assets) out there who always wanted to invest their money with Goldman Sachs but didn't have the $50 million net worth required to become a private wealth client, today may just be your lucky day.
But don't think for one second that you're going to get the same access to Goldman's proprietary "market color" as GSAM's wealthier private clients, or even be able to speak with one of Goldman's massively overpaid advisers for that matter. No, for all you peons who make up the "mass affluent market," Goldman will gladly take your money but if you want advice you'll have to go through their brand new "Robo-Adviser."
As Reuters points out today, in an effort to diversify risk away from the super wealthy, Goldman Sachs is actively hiring developers to code a "Robo-Adviser" for the "mass affluent market"...which basically means rich but not 'Goldman' rich.
The robo platform would sit within the bank's rapidly growing investment management division, according to the ad. The unit, which Goldman has been trying to build out in recent years to diversify its revenue, posted a record $1.38 trillion in assets under supervision at the end of 2016.
Goldman has for years grappled with how to tap into the mass affluent segment, broadly defined as those with less than $1 million in investable assets, without diluting the brand of its private wealth business which is considered a jewel within the bank, according to people familiar with the matter. Goldman's U.S. private wealth business typically advises clients with an account size of around $50 million.
Goldman has in the past considered expanding Ayco, a wealth advisory firm it purchased in 2003, as a way to push more deeply into the mass affluent segment, the people added.
While the robo-advice market was initially developed by startups such as Wealthfront and Betterment with ambitions of upending the traditional financial advice sector, large firms such as Charles Schwab Corp (SCHW.N) and Vanguard have launched similar services.
In an effort to save these programmers some time, might we kindly suggest you start with the "Buy The Fucking Dip" simulation as it's likely the only component of your new "Robo-Adviser" that will get any real airplay.