Goldman Sachs will offer wealth management services to high net worth individuals (HNWIs) in Japan. Goldman Sachs is targeting $9 billion assets under management over the next 5 to 10 years, according to media reports.
Goldman Sachs has already begun to hire private bankers to manage assets worth $9 billion. It is reported that clients will have to invest at least 1 billion yen in the bank.
Japan has the third-largest number of millennials after the US and China, based on Credit Suisse’s 2019 Global Wealth Report. The bank’s targeted clients will largely be part of portfolio management firms.
Several upscale foreign banks including HSBC and Citi have withdrawn business from the Japanese market earlier. Even UBS has agreed to merge its Japanese wealth operation into a majority-owned joint venture with Sumitomo Mitsui in 2021, the media reported. The Japanese market serving affluent customers is considered tough to crack over the years.
However, Credit Suisse is reported to have established a strong asset management base in Japan, while Nomura Bank is focused on retail investment.
Currently, Japan holds a 1 percent market share in the overall wealth business but has risen to 7 percent in the ultra-wealthy market. In 2018, Goldman Sachs was ranked ninth among wealth managers in Asia excluding China, according to Asian Private Banker.
Goldman Sachs is strengthening its focus on wealth management and consumer banking to diversify its revenue away from trading, the media reported. The move is initiated under the leadership of Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon.