Goldman Sachs Sees Surge in Demand for Custom Indices

Goldman Sachs has reported significant demand for custom and strategy indices across structured products, ETFs, and indexed annuities. According to Dolapo Lawal, Goldman's head of Americas Private Investor Product Group (PIPG), many firms that were previously hesitant about custom strategies are now taking a closer look at the space.

The bank has been active in various parts of the market, including the launch of the GS American Funds GFA 15% Index within Nationwide's New Heights Select fixed indexed annuity suite. Goldman Sachs is also a swap provider for options-based ETFs and has expanded its presence through the acquisition of Innovator Capital Management, a defined outcome ETF provider.

Lawal highlighted that firms are looking to differentiate themselves by pushing for features like dynamically adjusting volatility or more stable autocall rolling features in swaps linked to structured ETFs. The demand for bespoke strategies remains more selective among institutional and private bank clients due to the breadth of existing products and the performance of vanilla strategies over the past five years.