Goldman Sachs unveils Marcus Invest robo-adviser in consumer push

By Anna Irrera and Noor Zainab Hussain

(Reuters) – Goldman Sachs Group Inc is launching an automated wealth-management platform to invest customer funds across managed portfolios made up of exchange trade funds for stocks and bonds, the bank said on Tuesday.

Consumers can open an account with Marcus Invest with a minimum of $1,000 and will be charged an annual fee of 0.35%, the bank said.

Goldman’s robo-adviser will allocate and rebalance customers’ wealth based on models developed by the bank’s investment-strategy group, which has traditionally catered to institutions and the ultra-rich.

The move is the latest digital banking push by the Wall Street bank in line with Chief Executive David Solomon’s plan to reduce Goldman’s reliance on volatile trading and investment banking revenue by shifting focus towards Marcus, its consumer banking unit.

The bank launched Marcus in 2016 to diversify its revenue and funding sources by offering savings accounts and personal loans to retail customers. Goldman has an existing Marcus consumer-banking app.

Marcus Invest offers individual and joint investment accounts, as well as three types of individual retirement accounts, the bank said.

Similar to other robo-advisers the bank will evaluate a customer’s risk tolerance and investment timeline and recommend a conservative, moderate or growth portfolio.

Customers will be able to customise their investments by selecting one of three investment strategies including one that tracks market benchmarks while supporting sustainable business practices, the bank said.

(Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru and Anna Irrera in London; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Edmund Blair)