Goldman Sachs Consumer Platform Targets 'Mass Affluent'

Goldman Sachs has officially launched an online platform for small investors in its latest step to build out its fledgling consumer business.

Under the "Marcus Invest" platform, investors with as little as $1,000 can tap into Goldman's asset allocation services, purchase exchange traded funds and take other investment decisions with a 0.35 percent advisory fee.

The venture's objective is to bring "the investing expertise of Goldman Sachs directly to mass affluent customers," Chief Executive David Solomon said last month in a conference call.

Goldman Sachs has been building up its consumer-oriented Marcus business since 2016, expanding the venture to include a credit card with Apple.

The Wall Street heavyweight also has plans for a new digital checking offering for later this year, Solomon said.

Marcus has grown over the last five years, but still represents a much smaller business than Goldman's cash cow segments in corporate finance and trading.

In 2020, Goldman's consumer banking had $1.2 billion in revenues, about 2.7 percent of total revenues.