Goldman Sachs has officially broken into the RIA custody business.
The financial services giant’s first client is Steward Partners, a $22bn Raymond James-affiliated hybrid RIA based in Washington, D.C. Steward announced it would become multi-custodial earlier this year after moving from Raymond James’ independent broker-dealer to the company’s RIA custody platform following its acquisition of Umpqua Investments, which included Umpqua’s broker-dealer, now called Steward Partners Investment Solutions.
Speculation around Goldman’s possible buildout of an RIA custody platform began in May of 2020, when it acquired Folio Financial, a broker-dealer and custodian based in Virginia. That was its second big step into the mass-market RIA business, following its purchase in 2019 of $25bn RIA United Capital Financial Advisors, which rebranded as Goldman Sachs Personal Financial Management.
Industry watchers have opined that Goldman’s entrance into the RIA custody space would be a good thing for independent RIAs, specifically breakaways who, along with their clients, are looking for alignment with a distinguished brand.
Cameron Brien, a co-head of Goldman’s custody business, confirmed in a statement the firm will target independent advisors.
‘We’re thrilled to be working so closely with Steward as we continue to develop our offering for independent advisors. Their years of experience allow them to provide us with invaluable feedback as we expand our technology and product offering,’ Brien said.
This article originally appeared on CityWire.
