Goldman Sachs announced it has secured $70 billion in retirement asset management mandates from Verizon Communications and Lockheed Martin, strengthening its position in the growing outsourced chief investment officer (OCIO) market, according to CNBC.
The mandates include approximately $30 billion in pension assets across Verizon and Lockheed Martin, along with about $40 billion in Verizon’s defined-contribution retirement assets, which are primarily 401(k) plans. The scale of the agreements makes the announcement one of the more notable recent wins in the increasingly competitive market for outsourced corporate retirement investing.
These new mandates highlight a broader shift among major U.S. employers as they increasingly turn to outside investment managers to oversee large and complex retirement portfolios. Managing pension and defined-contribution assets has become more demanding as companies navigate changing interest rates, market volatility, regulatory considerations, and the growing use of alternative investment strategies. As a result, many corporations are seeking specialized partners with the scale, technology, risk management capabilities, and investment expertise needed to oversee retirement assets across both public and private markets.
The OCIO market has expanded significantly in recent years as companies seek to reduce the internal burden of managing retirement assets while maintaining strong oversight and long-term investment performance. These arrangements allow employers to delegate day-to-day portfolio management, asset allocation, manager selection, and risk monitoring to outside firms while focusing more directly on their core businesses.
The market for outsourced retirement asset management has become highly competitive, with firms including Goldman Sachs, BlackRock, Russell Investments, and Mercer competing for large institutional mandates. These mandates are especially attractive because they can generate stable, recurring fee revenue over long investment horizons. For asset managers, winning corporate retirement business can also deepen relationships with major employers and create opportunities to provide additional investment, advisory, and wealth management services.
For Goldman Sachs, expanding its asset management business has become a major strategic priority. The firm has been working to increase the share of revenue from more predictable, recurring businesses, rather than relying primarily on cyclical areas such as trading and investment banking. Asset and wealth management has become an increasingly important part of that strategy, as Goldman seeks to build a larger base of durable fee-based revenue.
The mandates from Verizon and Lockheed Martin also reinforce Goldman Sachs’ broader push to scale its institutional asset management platform. Large corporate retirement plans often require sophisticated investment solutions that can span traditional public equities and fixed income, private markets, liability-driven investment strategies, and customized portfolio construction. Goldman Sachs’ ability to win these mandates signals continued demand for large, integrated investment platforms capable of supporting complex retirement obligations.
As of March 31, Goldman Sachs’ outsourced chief investment officer business managed approximately $480 billion in assets. The firm’s broader Asset & Wealth Management division oversaw roughly $3.7 trillion in assets, reflecting its growing role as one of the largest global providers of institutional and wealth management services.
Overall, the $70 billion in new mandates from Verizon and Lockheed Martin represent a significant win for Goldman Sachs and underscore the continued momentum behind the OCIO market. As corporate retirement portfolios grow more complex, large employers are expected to keep evaluating outsourced investment management solutions that can provide scale, expertise, and long-term risk management support.
