Goldman Sachs Keeps Partner Headcount Flat with 2020 Cap

Goldman Sachs is reportedly adding no more than 60 partners in 2020 as part of a new drive to reduce the size and exclusivity of the top ranks. The cap is set to create the smallest class of partners since the mid-1990s, according to a report citing unnamed sources.

Partners, which are appointed biennially, are considered the elite employees of the bank and receive various benefits including a small stake in the firm and access to exclusive investment opportunities alongside a $1 million salary.

Any time one of the top 450 people at Goldman moves its gets written about, said Goldman CEO David Solomon, at a Credit Suisse forum in February this year, adding that top-10 executives exiting other banks would receive no such publicity.

When appointed to the top role in late 2018, Solomon inherited a bank with around 500 partners. Although the total partner count doubled from 221 in 1999 when Goldman first went public, the 69 added that year was the lowest since. And in the two years after Solmon joined, at least 54 partners have left either by exiting Goldman or renouncing membership but remaining with the bank.

At 60 or below, 2020 is set to become the new smallest class of partners for Goldman Sachs.

In addition to a smaller class, Goldman is also offering partners «carried interest» or a share of future profits in its private investment funds which can be accessed investments as little as $10,000.