Goldman Sachs Is Remaking Itself (Again)

Goldman Sachs is going to do something unusual this week: talk openly with investors.

The 151-year-old investment bank has earned a reputation as the impenetrable (and very profitable) black box of Wall Street. But on Wednesday — in a bid to overcome that secretive mantle and convince the outside world that it is ready for a new era of accountability — Goldman Sachs will open its doors to shareholders, analysts, the media and even regulators for its first “investor day.”

The chief executive, David M. Solomon, is hoping that the event will be an opportunity to show that this isn’t the Goldman Sachs of yore — attempting a makeover of an institution that became known as an adrenaline-fueled sales-and-trading juggernaut but little more than that. Now the firm is angling to handle more mundane services like managing cash for big companies. It has also jumped into retail banking and credit cards.

Attendees are likely to encounter a bit of chest-thumping about Goldman’s historic strengths, namely investment banking and trading, but also a lot of talk about making the firm less opaque. And expect Mr. Solomon, who is active on social media and has a side gig as a DJ (he’ll be spinning at Sports Illustrated’s Super Bowl party in Florida this weekend) to try to humanize the aloof institution, which he took over in the fall of 2018.

“David has got his own shtick and wants to make his own mark,” said Michael Novogratz, a Goldman alumnus who now runs a merchant bank. Plus, with Goldman trying to become a consumer-facing company, Mr. Novogratz added, “it’s good to be household name.”

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/29/business/goldman-sachs-investor-day.html?emc=rss&partner=rss