Goldman Sachs agrees to buy NEOS for up to $2.25 billion
Key Facts
Goldman Sachs announced on August 12, 2026, an agreement to acquire NEOS Investments for up to $2.25 billion as the bank expands in asset management and exchange-traded funds. The bank said in its deal announcement that the consideration comprises cash and shares. Payment is contingent on meeting specified performance and/or service commitments, making the announced value the maximum consideration conditional on those commitments. The agreement targets the acquisition of a firm specializing in income funds that use options strategies. Goldman Sachs links the acquisition to expanding its more durable revenue streams within its asset management business.
NEOS had $30 billion in assets under management as of June 30, 2026, according to the reference data used in the acquisition announcement. The firm offered 19 options-based income funds at that date. Reuters, in its coverage of the agreement, described the firm's business as providing ETFs that use systematic strategies to generate income through options. According to Goldman Sachs' statement, combined ETF assets under supervision at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Innovator and NEOS exceed $130 billion. That scope combines the bank's existing ETF business with the capabilities of the firms specializing in options strategies.
Goldman Sachs attributed the growth of derivative income funds to investors' desire to generate income, manage risk and navigate interest-rate volatility. David Solomon said combining the capabilities of both sides would give investors "a diverse set of tools for different market environments." These objectives place options strategies at the heart of the products the bank seeks to expand through the agreement. NEOS said in its materials on joining Goldman Sachs that distributions from these funds are not guaranteed. Distributions may include a return of capital, which differs from describing the products as delivering guaranteed high returns to unitholders.
The NEOS agreement followed Goldman Sachs' acquisition of Innovator Capital Management, which the bank announced it had completed in a statement dated April 2, 2026. Innovator focuses on defined-outcome ETFs. These funds use options strategies to serve income, risk and growth objectives, according to the acquisition completion statement. When that deal's completion was announced, Goldman Sachs' ETF platform had $90 billion in assets under supervision. The NEOS agreement adds an options-based income specialization to the bank's earlier expansion into defined-outcome funds during the same year.
The expansion comes after Goldman Sachs' Asset & Wealth Management net revenues reached $4.60 billion in the second quarter of 2026, according to the bank's quarterly report. Revenues rose 20% from the second quarter of 2025. Regarding fund management arrangements, a regulatory filing for a NEOS fund said completion of the acquisition would constitute a change of control of the investment adviser. This would automatically terminate the existing advisory agreement, according to the prospectus filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Proposals related to the transaction also include the election of nominees to the board of trustees of the NEOS ETF Trust, according to materials provided to shareholders.
Fund shareholders will be asked to approve a new investment advisory agreement between the trust, on behalf of each fund, and NEOS, according to the company's filing with the U.S. regulator. Goldman Sachs expects the entire NEOS team to join upon completion of the acquisition, including the founders, investment team and client service team. Co-founders and managing partners Troy Cates and Garrett Paolella will join Goldman Sachs Asset Management as partners after completion. Closing is subject to regulatory approval and customary closing conditions, according to the bank's statement. Goldman Sachs set the first quarter of 2027 as the expected date for completing the acquisition.