Goldman Sachs Group co-head of investment management, Edward Forst, will retire at the end of the year after 16 years with the firm, according to a bank memo sent Friday.

Forst, who has been co-head of the investment management division since 2010 alongside Tim O'Neill, joined the firm in 1994.

He headed up various groups within the securities firm, including Capital Markets and the Global Credit business.

Forst will be replaced by Eric Lane, according to a separate bank memo seen by Reuters. Lane has been chief operating officer of the division since 2009. He joined the firm in 1996 and was named partner in 2002.

There had been talk within the firm that Forst might be a potential successor down the road to Goldman CEO Lloyd Blankfein.

(Reporting by Katya Wachtel; Editing by Derek Caney)

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