Goldman Sachs Waives Carry Fees on OpenAI Wealth-Client Offerings
Goldman Sachs began offering OpenAI secondary shares to wealth management clients without charging carry fees, contrasting with its standard 15–20% profit share on Anthropic deals. The move coincides with secondary market demand collapsing for roughly $600 million of OpenAI shares and a record $122 billion funding round.
1. Goldman Sachs Introduces Zero-Fee OpenAI Offerings
Goldman Sachs has launched a program allowing wealth management clients to purchase OpenAI secondary shares without any carry fees. This zero-fee structure diverges from typical private-equity profit-sharing models and aims to attract client orders in a cooling secondary market.
2. Carry Fees Remain for Anthropic Transactions
Despite the fee waiver on OpenAI stakes, Goldman Sachs continues to impose its standard 15–20% carry on profits from Anthropic secondary investments. This differential pricing reflects the bank’s view on risk-reward balance between its AI asset offerings.
3. Secondary Market Dynamics Shift to Anthropic
Institutional investors attempting to sell about $600 million of OpenAI shares have faced a near-complete lack of demand, while buyers have indicated $2 billion ready for Anthropic. Meanwhile, OpenAI closed its largest-ever fundraising round at $122 billion, further reshaping supply and demand.
4. Implications for Wealth Clients and Goldman Sachs
The fee waiver could bolster trading volumes and client engagement for Goldman’s wealth management arm but may compress per-deal revenue. The strategy aligns Goldman with a broader investor pivot toward AI equity, potentially influencing future fee structures and competitive positioning.