Goldman builds a private markets platform for wealthy clients

The trillion-dollar IPO has become a late capstone on a growth story that plays out in private markets. Goldman Sachs is rebuilding its wealth arm around that sequence. CNBC reported July 21 that the bank has created an 'alternative investments platform' for wealthy clients and family offices, citing an internal memo seen by the outlet.

The platform combines Goldman's existing alternatives business with two new teams. One makes direct investments in individual private companies, rather than broad private equity funds. The other helps clients buy and sell stakes in those companies, according to the memo.

Kristin Olson, Goldman's global head of alternatives for wealth, told CNBC the move answers client demand for pre-IPO access. 'There has been a lot of focus on the big growth tech names and getting clients access to those before they debut in the public markets,' she said. 'If you haven't participated along the way, you're clearly missing a big part of the growth cycle.'

The bank has arranged direct stakes in private companies for roughly two decades, Olson said, citing Facebook before its 2012 IPO and later SpaceX, Stripe and Canva. Growth in client demand convinced executives to break the business out as its own group.

The mandate stays away from early-stage venture. Goldman generally targets later-stage companies with established products, meaningful revenue and a clearer path to profitability — what Olson called a 'sweet spot' between risk and return.

The AI investment boom has intensified the pull. Beyond leading model developers, Goldman is steering clients toward the infrastructure underneath AI, including data centers and related projects, Olson said. Days after the announcement, Goldman reported record quarterly revenue, with executives highlighting AI-driven activity across investment banking.

The second team is the structural change. Origination alone extends a two-decade track record; a formal way for clients to buy and sell stakes makes the product look more like a market. For the wealthy investor, that answers an illiquidity objection that has long capped enthusiasm for private deals. For the bank, it means a client who wants out before an IPO can be matched with the next client who wants in.

The platform also reflects Goldman's broader shift toward wealth and asset management, businesses the firm has long viewed as steadier than trading and banking. Direct stakes bring a growth edge to that steady revenue, and a formal trading function would add a recurring transaction stream. The two teams are designed to feed each other.

For independent advisers, the lesson is about sourcing. A bank that has arranged direct deals for two decades has relationships that take years to build. An RIA's edge is the planning layer around concentrated private positions: tax handling on a sale, liquidity modeling, portfolio construction. As these products get more bespoke, that layer accounts for more of the value.