By Suzanne McGee, Saeed Azhar and Manya Saini
(Reuters) – Goldman Sachs is exploring options, including a possible sale, of its ETF Accelerator platform that helps the bank’s institutional clients launch their own exchange-traded funds, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Friday .
The platform is separate from the ETF business of Goldman Sachs’ asset management unit, said the source, who asked not to be identified because the plans are not public. A second source told Reuters he had seen an internal email confirming details of the potential sale.
The memo gave no reason for the possible sale. If Goldman sells or shuts down the ETF accelerator, the company’s own ETF products, which are part of Goldman Sachs Asset Management, will not be affected.
“We are assessing the best long-term option for the ETF Accelerator platform for Goldman Sachs and our clients,” Nick Carcaterra, a spokesperson for the bank, said in an emailed statement.
“No decision has been made yet and there are no plans for change. If we want to share an update, we will,” he added.
The news was first reported by Bloomberg News.
Goldman launched the ETF Accelerator in 2023 and oversaw the rollout of the first ETFs for client Brandes Investment Partners in October. To date, it has delivered ten ETFs for four clients, including the debut of the first ETF issued by GMO, the investment firm founded by Jeremy Grantham.
That compares with the record 600 ETFs the sector rolled out at the end of November in 2024, according to State Street (NYSE:) Global Advisors. About a dozen products were launched this week alone, according to a Reuters tally.
“They may have misjudged where demand for their services might come from,” said Bryan Armour, ETF analyst at Morningstar, noting that other companies offering similar solutions, such as Tidal Financial Group and Alpha Architect, “are very have been successful”.
Speaking to Reuters at the time of the launch of GMO ETFs, Lisa Mantil, global head of the ETF Accelerator, said that while regulatory changes had made it easier for managers to launch ETFs, firms could still benefit from Goldmans’ experience and expertise’. (This story has been refiled to change the word “memo” to “email” in paragraph 2)
