The bank is expanding its risk-management capabilities across structured notes, ETFs and concentrated stock positions, supported by investment in pricing, execution and proprietary modelling technology.

Goldman Sachs has strengthened its position as a hedge provider in the US structured products market by expanding client relationships beyond individual products and distribution channels, while investing in technology to support more efficient pricing and risk management.

Our approach is centered on creating mutually beneficial partnerships founded on trust, transparency, and consistent execution - Boris Romanovsky

“We have built long-standing partnerships across the market by focusing on expanding relationships beyond a single product or distribution channel,” said Boris Romanovsky, vice-president of structured products sales at Goldman Sachs. “Our approach is centered on creating mutually beneficial partnerships founded on trust, transparency, and consistent execution.”

Technology has been a central part of this approach, particularly for structured products in which the bond and option components are bifurcated. Goldman Sachs has invested in pricing and risk-management capabilities to improve efficiency and scalability and support a broader range of issuer requirements.

The Goldman team at the SRP Americas 2026 Awards in Scottsdale, Arizona on 23 September. Left to right: Asifiqbal Karimkhan and Yesh Badugu.

The bank’s hedging activity continues to be concentrated in standardised products, where issuers need efficient ways to manage risks that often lack natural offsets. However, its capabilities increasingly extend across different product wrappers and client segments.

“Over the past year, Goldman Sachs has won a mandate to hedge a structured ETF, underscoring our ability to provide risk management solutions across a wide range of wrappers, structures, and client types,” Romanovsky said.

The development comes as structured investment products increasingly span traditional notes, ETFs and indexed annuities. Goldman Sachs is a swap provider for options-based ETFs and has expanded its presence in the segment through the acquisition of Innovator Capital Management, a defined-outcome ETF provider. It has also agreed to acquire NEOS Investments, adding US$30bn of active income ETF assets to its platform.

Romanovsky said the balance of hedging responsibilities between banks and their clients continued to evolve. Some issuers are developing their internal hedging expertise or expanding their capacity to book back-to-back hedges in rates and commodities.

“As the market evolves, maintaining open dialogue with our partners is critical,” he said. “We regularly assess where each party's strengths lie to ensure we are optimizing the relationship and leveraging complementary capabilities where they are most valuable.”

Scaling bespoke risk management

One area of growing demand is single-stock risk management, as advisers and investors seek ways to manage concentrated equity positions. Goldman Sachs has dedicated resources to expanding its capabilities across client segments, including registered investment advisers, independent broker-dealers, private banks and high-net-worth investors.

“Concentrated stock positions remain common among RIAs, independent broker-dealers, private banks, and high-net-worth investors, and these solutions are designed to facilitate tax-efficient risk management,” Romanovsky said.

Historically, such capabilities were primarily available to large wirehouse clients. Goldman Sachs has sought to extend its reach by developing a platform that can accommodate smaller transactions as well as larger mandates.

“Goldman Sachs has differentiated itself by building a scalable platform that also supports smaller transactions,” Romanovsky said. “This is made possible through technological advancements in our quoting and execution processes, powered by proprietary market data and product modeling capabilities.”

The emphasis on scalability reflects the operational demands of bespoke hedging. Pricing individual risks and executing transactions efficiently requires technology that can support a wider range of client needs without relying solely on large-ticket business.

Structured notes remain core

Goldman Sachs’ hedging capabilities also support its structured note activity. According to SRP data, the bank ranked fourth in global structured products issuance in 2026 year-to-date, with a 5.8% market share, up from 3.18% in 2025. In the US, it ranked first, with an 18% share of issuance based on 4,300 products marketed worth US$22.3bn.

The bank’s structured note business includes customised thematic products, such as a three-year Catapult note linked to an equally weighted basket of 27 companies across the artificial intelligence ecosystem. The transaction, structured with UBS, won SRP’s Deal of the Year, USA award.

Romanovsky said the basket approach offered investors exposure to AI across semiconductors, hardware, software and infrastructure, rather than relying on a conventional broad-based index. Demand for custom basket notes had accelerated over recent years, particularly across large wirehouse distribution platforms, he added.

“AI-related themes have been among the strongest areas of investor interest, and clients have shown a preference for structures that provide uncapped participation in potential upside,” Romanovsky said, adding that there has been a broader adoption of Catapult structures, which he said had grown from a niche product to represent approximately five percent of the US market. The format has been used across major distribution channels and adapted to different payoff requirements.

“Given its strong adoption, flexible design, and investor value proposition, we believe the Catapult structure has established itself as a long-term product category within the structured products market,” he said.

Goldman Sachs’ wider activity includes structured investment strategies linked to custom indices and fixed indexed annuities. Its GS American Funds GFA 15% Index, for example, combines Capital Group’s American Funds Growth Fund of America with a dynamic risk-management overlay within Nationwide’s New Heights Select fixed indexed annuity suite.

“As investors and advisors seek more personalized outcomes, custom indices can serve as a common building block across multiple product formats, helping deliver similar investment objectives through different vehicles,” Romanovsky said.

Goldman Sachs’ work across the market was recognised at the SRP awards, where it won Best Hedge Provider and Deal of the Year, USA for the three-year Catapult structured note with UBS.

Image: Andreas Prott/Adobe Stock