Goldman Sachs Front Office Divisions
A guide to understanding the different front office divisions at Goldman Sachs: from Investment Banking to Executive Office.
What is the “Front Office”?
Within Goldman and banking culture, there is a general understanding of what front office roles and divisions are meant. Generally, the term front office refers to the revenue-generating and client-facing areas within the business. Revenue generation relates to business activities that generate revenue for the firm. In the context of Goldman, this varies from investment banking to trading. The term front office differs per company and may include different roles and divisions for a technology firm compared to the banking industry.
Front Office Division Overview
Goldman Sachs has six of its twenty divisions that are considered front office divisions. These divisions are Investment Banking, Global Markets, Asset Management, Consumer and Wealth Management, Global Investment Research, and Executive Office.
Investment Banking, Global Markets, Asset Management, and Consumer and Wealth Management are considered traditional revenue-generating areas within the banking culture. However, within Goldman Sachs, the Global Investment Research division (GIR) and the Executive Office division (EO) are also part of the front office for their contribution to the firm. GIR contributes to client-focused research, and EO advances Goldman’s corporate strategy.
Investment Banking Division
The Investment Banking division at Goldman Sachs is broken up into seven sections. Each of these sections contributes to the well-being of the division and includes services offered to its clients. This division is considered on the “private side” of the markets because its employees handle sensitive information that must guarantee confidentiality from the “public side.”
Classic Investment Banking includes providing advisory services for significant transactions across products, regions, and industries. Goldman Sachs structures its teams by industry group (i.e., Real Estate, Healthcare, Media, and Telecom), region (i.e., Latin America and Asia), company size, and country.
The Mergers and Acquisitions Group focuses on many insights and advisory services relating to M&A, such as structured transactions, corporate governance-related issues, divestitures, and capital markets.
The Financing Group provides complex financing and risk management solutions while closely cooperating with other divisions and areas within the Investment Banking Division.
Transaction Banking focuses on advising clients’ cash management needs by providing a digital platform that offers data insights and liquidity solutions.
Lastly, the Operations and Engineering sub-divisions within the Investment Banking Division ensure that the business flows smoothly.
Global Markets
The Global Markets division facilitates client transactions while enabling clients to manage risk, raise funding, and buy and sell financial products. This division comprises six sub-divisions: Prime Services, Equities, Fixed Income, Currency, Commodities, Product Management (Marquee), Operations, and Engineering.
Prime Services consists of portfolio monitoring and risk management for hedge funds. These services include hedge fund consulting, derivatives clearing services, capital introduction, and agency securities lending.
The Equities sub-division oversees stock transactions and provides institutional investors with financing, securities lending, and other services.
While Equities transact in stocks, Fixed income, currency, and commodities teams transact in asset varieties, which include mortgages, credit products, and interest rate products.
Product Management (Marquee) ensures that Goldman’s clients receive innovative products and are guided by interdisciplinary teams in defining complex product strategies.
Like the Investment Banking Division, the Operations (core to Securities) and Engineering sub-divisions support the Global Markets division to ensure the business runs smoothly.
Asset Management
The Asset Management division within Goldman Sachs provides investment and advisory services for institutional and individual clients, including insurance companies, foundations, and sovereign wealth funds. Fundamentally, the service of managing a client’s money entails determining a client’s financial objectives and then utilizing portfolio management to accomplish the client's goals.
The Asset Management division has two goals, which are:
- Increase the value of their client's portfolio
- Mitigate the risks of the investments
The Asset Management division has many roles in this area of the bank, such as portfolio managers, researchers, and sales individuals.
The many roles involved in this division share a common goal for their client: to ensure that their clients prosper in making more money while mitigating the financial investment risks.
They can ensure their clients make more money by investing in different assets such as property, foreign currency, bonds, equities, and other alternative types of assets.
By monitoring the market and adjusting client portfolios according to threats and opportunities observed, the Asset Management division can maximize potential returns for their clients. For the benefit of their clients, this division ensures the right timing to invest in expanding their clients' portfolios and growing their finances.
Unlike the other divisions, the Asset Management division is not as rigid in structure and works closely with the Investment Banking division.
Consumer and Wealth Management
Consumer and Wealth Management (CWM) provides the solutions necessary for clients to reach their financial goals by providing investment management and financial planning advice for employees, corporations, family offices, high-net-worth individuals, and ultra-high-net-worth individuals.
CWM is structured in three sub-divisions, including Private Wealth Management (PWM), Personal Financial Management and Ayco, and Marcus by Goldman Sachs, all catering to different client needs.
Private Wealth Management provides ultra-high net worth individuals, families, and institutions comprehensive wealth management plans, tax and estate planning, and private banking and lending services.
The Personal Financial Management Group (PFMG) focuses on providing its clients with wealth management solutions, including digital solutions. PFMG includes Ayco and Personal Financial Management, catering to high net-worth clients.
Marcus by Goldman Sachs caters to millions of customers, focusing on their financial needs, such as borrowing, spending, saving, and investing, by providing multiple financial insights products.
Global Investment Research
The Global Investment Research division (GIR) provides research into investment opportunities, macroeconomic trends, and specific factors affecting industry sectors. GIR constitutes 62% equity research, 13% macro research, and 25% specialized teams.
Equity research looks at:
- Single Stock Research
- Thematic Research
- Sustainability Research
- Derivatives Research
Macro research looks at:
- Credit Research
- Economic Research
- Portfolio Strategy
- Commodities Research
- FX & Emerging Markets Research
Specialized Teams look at:
- Digital and Content Strategy
- Data Strategy
- Content Management
- Data Management
- Engineering
Executive Office
The Executive Office division is responsible for advancing the firm's corporate strategy, maintaining its distinctive culture, and preserving its relationships with shareholders, policymakers, clients, and the broader public.
This division also ensures that the firm is aligned with social and sustainable goals as a priority. EO consists of Corporate Communications and Global Marketing, Government Affairs, Investor Relations, Office of the Chairman and Client Strategy Group, Office of Corporate Engagement, Sustainable Finance Group, and Office of Alumni Engagement.
The Corporate Communications and Global Marketing sub-divisions work closely to ensure the protection of Goldman's culture, brand, and reputation. The Corporate Communications sub-division focuses on communicating the firm's priorities, while the Global Marketing sub-division focuses on firmwide marketing efforts in delivering value for Goldman Sachs.
Government Affairs promotes constructive relationships with the government and like agencies, and Investor Relations focuses on collaborations with research analysts and debt investors in shaping the firm's external engagement.
The Office of the Chairman prioritizes the firm's strategic initiatives, and the Clients Strategy Group works with this office to support these initiatives.
The Office of Corporate Engagement aims to address economic and societal challenges by leveraging people and capital. The Office of Alumni Engagement oversees the relationship between the firm and its previous employees.
Lastly, the Sustainable Finance Group focuses on sustainability-driven commercial activity by engaging with employees and stakeholders on innovative sustainable solutions.
Additional Resources
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