New York, June 13, 2022 – Goldman Sachs Asset Management today launched its asset management and distribution platform for the State of Arizona’s AZ529, Advisor Plan, the Goldman Sachs 529 Plan. Ascensus College Savings Recordkeeping Services, LLC (Ascensus) will serve as the new program manager.
“As a global leader in active investing, we can provide solutions at scale to meet our clients’ evolving needs across all areas of the asset management landscape,” Luke Sarsfield, global co-head of Goldman Sachs Asset Management, said. “As we establish this exciting new relationship with the State of Arizona and Ascensus, our ambition is to serve more families with a growing set of solutions designed to meet their long-term education savings needs. We will seek to partner with financial professionals to build on our differentiated advisor-led offerings and successful long-term retail sales strategy.”
The Goldman Sachs 529 Plan will be available through financial professionals. The Plan offers an array of investment portfolios drawing on the expertise of investment teams with a long history of designing and managing portfolio solutions for clients globally.
“We believe investors will benefit from our track record of managing multi-asset portfolios for more than two decades,” added Greg Calnon, global head of Multi-Asset Solutions within Goldman Sachs Asset Management. “To help investors meet their life and financial goals, including education funding for themselves and their families, we intend to partner with financial professionals to provide multi-asset class products and solutions, focusing on asset allocation, tactical implementation, risk management and portfolio construction.”
The Plan offers a diversified range of investment options designed to meet a wide variety of investment goals and education savings needs, including:
- Year of Enrollment Portfolios designed to correspond with the expected year of college enrollment. Each Year of Enrollment Portfolio is managed to a pre-determined glide path, and the asset allocation adjusts automatically over time.
- Target Risk Portfolios that provide the opportunity to invest based on risk tolerance and investment goals. The risk profile of each Target Risk Portfolio will remain consistent and fixed over time.
- Individual Portfolios providing a range of asset classes for choice and diversification. Investments include stock funds, bond funds or a stable value fund.
The Goldman Sachs 529 Plan is designed to make saving easy and includes benefits such as competitive fees and investment minimums, as well as the ability to manage accounts efficiently through expanded online account functionality.
As Arizona’s tax-advantaged college and educational savings program, AZ529, Arizona’s Education Savings Plan, has helped families accumulate more than $1.8 billion for educational expenses over the last 20 years. It allows participants to start saving for a variety of future educational needs, including K-12 education, apprenticeship programs, trade schools, community and four-year colleges and graduate programs. Investors can work with their financial professionals to access Goldman Sachs Asset Management’s capabilities and resources in the AZ529, Advisor Plan.
Arizona State Treasurer Kimberly Yee and the Arizona State Board of Investment (BOI) unanimously approved the contract. The BOI approved an initial 5-year agreement with a 2-year extension upon mutual agreement.
“By partnering with Goldman Sachs, we continue our commitment to make the AZ529 Advisor Plan even more effective and diversified,” said Arizona Treasurer Kimberly Yee. “We expect Goldman Sachs Asset Management to successfully collaborate with financial professionals to provide investment expertise that will help more Arizona families reach their future educational goals.”
Fidelity Investments will continue managing the direct-sold AZ529 Plan.
About Goldman Sachs Asset Management
Bringing together traditional and alternative investments, Goldman Sachs Asset Management provides clients around the world with a dedicated partnership and focus on long-term performance. As the primary investing area within Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS), we deliver investment and advisory services for the world’s leading institutions, financial advisors and individuals, drawing from our deeply connected global network and tailored expert insights, across every region and market – overseeing more than $2 trillion in assets under supervision worldwide as of March 31, 2022. Driven by a passion for our clients’ performance, we seek to build long-term relationships based on conviction, sustainable outcomes, and shared success over time. Follow us on LinkedIn.
About AZ529, Advisor Plan
The Arizona 529, Advisor Plan had 34,734 accounts and $712 Million in AUM as of March 31, 2022. The Goldman Sachs 529 Plan is one of Arizona's two tax-advantaged education savings program allowing participants to save for college, vocational and workforce training, apprenticeship programs and private K-12 education. For more information, please visit https://az529.gov/
