Goldman Eyes Florida Base for Asset Management; Another Setback for NYC

By: Hellen Zaboulani

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is eying Florida to house one of its key divisions. The esteemed mega bank moving its asset management arm out, would be a difficult hit to New York City’s status as the center of the U.S. financial industry.

As reported by Bloomberg News, company executives have been hunting South Florida for offices, and negotiating tax advantages with local officials. The COVID-19 pandemic, which shuttered NYC offices for months, has convinced members of the company’s leadership that they can successfully run the business from anywhere. Bloomberg sources with knowledge of the matter said the company is now looking to relocate more positions outside of the New York area to save money.

The sources added that Goldman has not finalized anything yet, and may opt for a different state instead of Florida for its asset management. Another location it may look to is Dallas, TX, where it has also been growing its footprint. “We are executing on the strategy of locating more jobs in high-value locations throughout the U.S., but we have no specific plans to announce at this time,” a spokesman for Goldman Sachs said in an emailed statement. The shift of employees to cheaper locations is part of the company’s ambitious plans revealed early this year to cut back $1.3 billion in costs.

Goldman is not alone in its quest to lighten its presence in the city, as the jump in office space vacancies can attest to. A growing list of large companies have similarly been looking to make a change, in search of lower costs, tax advantages and quieter lifestyles. As per Bloomberg, Paul Singer’s Elliott Management Corp. already has plans to move its headquarters from Midtown to West Palm Beach, Florida. Also, Blackstone Group Inc. and Ken Griffin’s Citadel have also been increasing their presence in the Sunshine state. Still Goldman, often seen as a trend setter on Wall Street, would add a heavy blow to New York City, and the loss of white collar jobs could turn the temporary difficulties into a prolonged problem.

Mayor Bill de Blasio’s office expressed confidence that the Big Apple will be quick to rebound when the pandemic ends. “With all due respect to Florida, no place can compare to New York City’s concentration of talent, education, innovation and next-generation technology,” said Bill Neidhardt, press secretary for the Mayor. “The city continues to see new expansions and investments from the leading industries and we expect more to come.”